Town holds a birthday party for hundreds of baby birds
By Michael Cuglietta
PORT ROYAL
In the heart of downtown, a male snowy egret presents a carefully chosen branch to a potential mate.
Normally he accessorizes with a yellow face mask and golden slippers. But for breeding season, the wading bird dons a reddish mask and bright orange booties. He also sprouts lacy white feathers.
If the girl is impressed, she accepts the guy’s branch and the new couple will build a nest.
In that case, the pair will be among the hundreds of birds currently nesting at the Port Royal Cypress Wetlands. They include snowy and great egrets, an assortment of herons, the once-endangered wood stork and the odd anhinga.
Some of the birds are year-round residents.
Others, like the green heron, have traveled from as far as South America just to have their babies in Port Royal.
The birds were not the original intent behind the wetlands. When town officials created the habitat more than 20 years ago they were merely looking for a place to retain the town’s stormwater.
The birds were a happy accident, an indicator of a healthy ecosystem.
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