A Crowned Jewel for today's #animalphotography photo contest

When I was trying to decide what I should feature for today's #animalphotography contest put together by @juliank (over at @photocontests) every Monday, I could hear the cries of little mouths yelling out, "Pick me, pick me!"

In truth they were crying out for their mother who was nearby on one of countless trips to feed her rapidly growing babies.

I'm fortunate enough to have three to four pairs of Yellow Crown Night Herons nest in my back yard every year.

I shot these from my kayak since they prefer to nest in trees overhanging the water. The tree of choice in this case is mangroves.

Mama was reluctant to fly away from here nearby post watching over her babies, but did so once I got within 10 feet in hopes of distracting me from her, very well hidden, nest.

This was moments before letting the little guys know the gig was up and their attempts to win at the game of hide-n-seek was over. Their plumage perfectly mimics the nest itself. Notice the alert stare from within the camouflage.

Thanks for stopping by ...