Each summer the small island at Murphy Park attracts an amazing number of herons, egrets, and sometimes ibis.  It is a good place to learn to see the differences between the great egret, the snowy egret, and the cattle egret.  Also present are great blue herons, little blue herons, green herons, yellow crowned night herons and sometimes even tricolored herons.

In addition to the more common waterfowl, there are also black-bellied whistling ducks.  The birds begin to arrive at Murphy Park around 7:00, but the arrival accelerates and by 8:00 there are thousands of birds in the bamboo on the island and wading in the water.  These birds go out during the day to forage and come back to Murphy Park as a safe place to roost.  While this year is not as dry as 2011,  even so,  Murphy Park is one of the few water holes left for these birds to find a safe place to roost.

The most common is the cattle egret, a small egret with a short yellow bill and light orange legs and feet.  During breeding season it has buff colored plumed patches on its crest, back and breast.  Originally from Africa, they are now found on six continents and are now breeding in most of the states in the United States. Cattle egrets feed primarily on insects and are often seen following cows, horses and tractors, foraging on grasshoppers disturbed by the movement of the larger animals and vehicles. They also eat crickets, spiders, flies, moths, frogs, and occasionally small birds.  They nest in large groups and can become a nuisance when they chose a rookery in an urban setting.

The black-bellied whistling duck is more commonly found in the Rio Grande Valley, but it seems to be expanding its range into Central Texas.  While they look like ducks, they are like geese and swans in that both males and females look alike and they form longer pair bonds.  They get the name “whistling duck” because their call sounds like a high-pitched whistle.  Black-bellied whistling ducks are medium sized with rufous colored chest and back, a black belly, a red bill, a gray face with a pale eye ring. In flight, large white patches are visible on their wings.

While some of the species are only passing through Taylor and may not be seen in the numbers that were present in July, a visit to Murphy Park in the evenings is a great way to end the day.  The birds come in for the night in groups, gracefully swooping in to find their spot. It is entertaining to watch the fight for their spot and to see large groups of birds take off together after being startled.

When this many egrets create a rookery in a neighborhood, a conflict between the needs of the animals and the needs of humans occurs.  All of these birds are protected by the migratory bird act.  Once nesting has begun it is not lawful to disturb the nest.  In the spring, if you see egrets considering a tree in a neighborhood as a possible nesting, it is probably a good idea to make a lot of noise and try to discourage them from nesting in your yard.  As beautiful as they are in a wild setting at a lake or the island at Murphy Park, they are not as much fun when competing for space in neighborhoods.