Today's FFF shows off the incredibly adorable chicks of Limpkins. We miss seeing (and hearing) these Florida specialty birds in our waters. Some say that these birds are hard to find, but we've never had problems finding them. They often are right out in the open in freshwater areas looking for and feeding on large apple snails and sometimes freshwater mussels. Limpkins will pick a pond clean of all apple snails in sight, competing with another Florida specialty bird that eats only apple snails, the Snail Kite.
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| "Remember to keep your wings up for balance!" |
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| Serious cuteness going on here |
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| Limpkin parents and a trail of chicks |
If you've been to Florida and haven't seen them, then you may have heard them. If you ever hear what sounds like a flamboyant diva screaming while running away in heels, then you may have heard a Limpkin. This can be especially startling in the middle of the night. But fear not, it's most likely not some scandalous mischief going on - it's just a Limpkin calling.
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| Doting Limpkin parent and chicks |
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| That's a big foot, mama! |
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| Limpkin parents showing how to forage |
Well before you get a loud, wailing adult Limpkin, you have these precious little brown balls of fuzz! We stumbled upon this family of Limpkins at the end of May in 2009 at a pond right in front of a local public library. We were already pleasantly surprised to find two adult Limpkins together. And then we noticed these little fuzzballs trailing after them. We quickly went home to grab our camera to capture this uber cute sighting!
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| Family Portrait |
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| Love seeing those tiny wings! |
These Limpkin chicks were just as cute as can be! There were a group of 4 of them following mom and pop looking for snails. It was nice to see both doting parents caring for their young ones and showing them the ropes.
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| A perfect portrait of baby Limpkins in these flowers! |
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| Another lovely family pic |
Super! I love Limpkin but am never around the time of year to see the youngsters. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteCool bird. Y'all need to stop hogging them down their in Florida. Limpkin is already one of the most cute-sounding names in the bird world, and now you take it to another level with the chickies.
DeleteI love the photos. This is a great expose', "and it's all thanks to the Limpkins at your local library."
Thanks Dawn! This was the only time we saw Limpkin chicks. It was a quite a treat!
DeleteThanks, Laurence! Yes, Florida does hog some good birds. But there are so many birds that are practically everywhere else BUT South Florida! And how can you complain when you've got some cool Southwest specialties?!? =)
DeleteGreat shots Maureen. You are so lucky to see such cute babies, and the "Family Portrait" is my favorite!
ReplyDeleteThanks! We were very lucky to catch a glimpse of these cuties!
DeleteLove this post! I especially enjoyed the "flamboyant tranny" comment - I literally laughed out loud! And wonderful photos, as usual.
ReplyDeleteHaha... Thanks, Kelli! Glad I made you laugh ;-)
DeleteWhat a great post! The Limpkins are such cool birds, and those adorable chicks are too cute! Excellent photos Maureen! I saw a Limpkin family at the wetlands last spring, but they were always in far the reeds.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Tammy! We were very lucky to get such an up-close view of these chicks.
DeleteYou got some great shots of the family. They are so cute.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dina! I'm glad the family let us get close enough to get good pics without disturbing them too much.
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