Interspecies
Generally different bird species tend to tolerate each other. Occasionally territorial disputes can arise or in the case of crows and ravens, “bullying” can raise its head. Here are some examples of bird species interacting with each other. I highly recommend clicking on any image to view it larger.
Egrets and Cormorants
Egrets and Cormorants seem to get along quite well together and can teach us a lesson about that. In the summer of 2022, I saw this pair of a Snowy Egret and a Double-Crested Cormorant at two local lakes frequently. They were inseparable and really fun to watch.
Top image below - The Cormorant seems to be taking the Egret “under its wing”, figuratively and literally!
Bottom image below - On this day the Snowy Egret caught a fish while the Cormorant looked on. The Egret did not share. I guess friendship only goes so far.
Top image below - I call this image “The Three Amigos” but in all honesty the Black-Crowned Night Heron on the far left was not happy that the Cormorant and the Egret had come into an area that he was fishing and was “escorting” them off his patch.
Bottom image below - The Cormorant seems to be saying, “Hey, don’t leave” to its buddy the Egret.
Egrets and Herons
For the most part I observe Egrets and Herons to “coexist” side-by-side, especially when fishing. But not always.
Top image below - This Great Blue Heron and Snowy Egret fished the same area for quite a while but whenever they got too close the Egret seemed to defer and move a bit further. Well, the Heron is larger so…
Bottom image below - This was in the Texas Gulf area near Galveston when a Tri-Colored Heron and a Snowy Egret had a verbal disagreement about fishing territories.
Top image below - That is a Juvenile Black-Crowned Heron on the left that showed up about the same time as the Snowy Egret on the right on a small sand bar off the Platte River.
Bottom image below - As a continuation to the image above, a Great Blue Heron then joined in which proved that three is a crowd so the Juvenile Black-Crowned Night Heron had to defer. Had this been an adult Black-Crowned Night Heron it would have been interesting to see if it held its ground (likely).
Gulf Coast Birds
In November, 2022 I visited the area around the Gulf Coast in Texas. The amount of bird species was dizzying. And there was quite a bit of species interactions. Here are some examples below.
Before I headed to my Texas trip, I had a goal of seeing a trio of (mostly) white birds that are rarely seen in Colorado: The Great Egret (we have Snowy Egrets here), a White-Faced Ibis, and a Roseate Spoonbill. I hit the jackpot one day when I spotted all three in a tree!
Top below - Roseate Spoonbill on top left, two White-Faced Ibises next to the Spoonbill, and a Great Egret on the branch below, partially hidden
Bottom image below - Eventually one White-Faced Ibis and the Great Egret flew off leaving the Roseate Spoonbill and the Ibis to share a branch on the tree
Top image below - On my last day in Texas I found a Roseate Spoonbill and a White-Faced Ibis fishing in a marshy area near Galveston
Bottom image below - On the same day I found a Snowy Egret and a White Ibis walking in a marshy area near Galveston
Below - Cormorants and Brown Pelicans shared numerous posts on the waterfront in peaceful coexistence
Below - The small white birds are called Cattle Egrets because they are often seen following cattle as in this image. I was amazed to see they seem to innately know how to avoid being stepped on by cattle
Left - A Snowy Egret and a Black-Legged Stilt roamed the shore of this lake near Galveston
Other Combinations
Here are some other examples of interspecies interactions below.
Below - This Black-Crowned Night Heron very politely sidestepped a female Wood Duck that was just resting at the time
Below - This Snowy Egret also carefully avoided stepping on the male wood duck that was sitting in the Egret’s path (avoiding the goose, too)
Below - A rare (for here) Tundra Swan was quite comfortable around this Ring-Billed Gull
Below - Another spring migration bird to Colorado is the Black-Crowned Night Heron (left in image). Here he runs into an old friend, the Great Blue Heron, and they seem to be catching up on how they spent their winters.
Below - This male Common Merganser and Snapping Turtle seemed to be at a standstill as to who had the right-of-way!
Below - All ducks but the two in front are called Redheads (both male and not sure how they got that name, ha-ha!) who were swimming all day with the Mallard Ducks in back (the middle one is the male).
Below - The Prairie Falcon on the right gave chase to a Harlan’s Hawk that had a notion to help itself to a meal the Falcon had previously procured.