Nankeen Night Heron at the Beach.
This is my first entry for the brand new and very exciting Feathered Friday challenge organized by my friend 
I was delighted to find this beach-loving Nankeen Night Heron at Glenelg Beach in South Australia when visiting this picturesque place. He was enjoying the scenery just as much as I was, watching young boys diving off the jetty, people attempting to catch fish, while others were jet-ski-ing, swimming or relaxing on the beach.
Nankeen Night herons are also referred to as 'Rufous Night Herons' and are found in Indonesia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Melanesia and in many parts of Australia.
They grow to approximately 60cm tall and have a slightly stooped appearance. They are not entirely nocturnal as they often feed during the day and their diet consists of small fish, reptiles, insects and on occasions, eggs. Their preferred habitat is near freshwater rivers, lakes, bulrushes, estuaries, harbours and in residential fishponds on the hunt for gold fish.
The Night Heron breeds from between September to April and uses a variety of sticks with which to build their nests. They lay up to five light green eggs and after a 22 day incubation period they develop as fledglings for about 49 days.
Don't you just love those plump cheeks and wide innocent eyes?
THANK YOU FOR VIEWING. HAVE A GREAT DAY.