There’s been so much happening in the Wild lately that it’s difficult to keep up, to stay on top of the reporting of said happenings. Here’s a quick update. If you remember, there were two successful Green Heron nests in our Wetlands last year. We’re hoping to have a repeat. Last Saturday two of the small, somewhat green herons appeared. I’ve seen one or two each day since, so maybe a redo of last year’s events is forthcoming. The firstRead more
Posts tagged: #Green Heron
What will the weather bring us?
Weather systems often bring in unusual birds. Strong cold fronts sometimes carry with them birds from the far north. Unusually cold weather creates strong needs within birds to feed, simple survival is the name of the game. During extreme cold periods you often see birds at your feeders that are absent during mild weather especially when the leaf litter is covered with snow. On Thursday, a day when upon awaking from a three dog night, the air temperature was aRead more
Herons
I haven’t seen any of our local Green Herons in over two weeks. They’re either being very secretive or they’ve moved on. It is, in fact, October and traditionally we loose our resident Green Herons to migratory urges during this time of year. A Great Blue Heron has been an on-and-off visitor this past summer but seems to have now settled into the on position, I’ve seen it every day for several weeks. This is not an unusual occurrence, we’veRead more
They’re on their own.
Our green herons are now on their own. I saw one bird at its nest tree this morning (8/24), but they are all free flying birds and have been experimenting with different fishing sites around the Wetlands. Here’s some photos of the crew. The rest of the images are from August, 24, a Saturday. I’m assuming that all seven of the herons fledged. The most I was able to see at any one time was five and they were spreadRead more
Green Herons Ready for Action!
I’ve been off for several days but I felt compelled to come in briefly last Thursday (8/15) to see how the herons were doing. They’re doing fine and seem to be ready to go. The birds are still hanging around the nest tree but both groups of herons look able to fend for themselves, almost. On to the second nest, the nest next to the Wetlands Overlook. On August 10, the birds appeared to have quite a way to goRead more
Green Herons soon to be hunting on their own.
When I checked on our green herons this past Tuesday morning (8/6) I found one leaning over a branch of its birth tree staring down at the water. Was the bird admiring its reflection or was it feeling the urge to hunt? I suspect it was watching for little minnows and tadpoles in the water below, although I could be wrong. As I walked the boardwalk to the other side of the tree its sibling was peacefully perched and staringRead more
What are the herons up to?
I’ve not been able to locate one of the nestlings in the first heron nest. Originally there were three nestlings. I’ve only seen two nestlings since the birds moved off the nest. Two of the birds hatched earlier and so were larger. At one point I witnessed the two larger birds pushing the smaller nestling to the edge of the nest. Perhaps that’s what happened to the third bird, it was pushed over the side. On a brighter note, the otherRead more
Where’s the Herons, Cardinals, and oh yeah, the Kingfishers?
I was a little apprehensive as I made my way over to the Wetlands Overlook on Tuesday morning. I missed two days of observation due to the weekend off (Sunday & Monday). A lot can happen in the lives of nestlings in two days. A quick scan with my binoculars (bins) lessened my anxiety. The four nestlings, although they looked different (they were growing feathers through their fluffy down), were all there and looked healthy. On to the other nest,Read more
Latchkey Herons
It’s only been a week since hatching and already the herons in NS1 are being left alone in the nest while the parents are off at work stalking fish, tadpoles, frogs, insects, and other food items to feed the little nestlings. The parents work the Wetlands and bring in food in the form of partially digested remains of whatever it is they’ve been able to catch. The food is regurgitated into the bottom of the nest and the youngsters haveRead more