Three of a Kind & a Visitor

Just to update you on the green herons in the Wetlands, I was able to get a shot showing three nestlings in the first nest (NS1).

Three fuzzy nestlings can be seen below the protective parent shielding her young from the sun (NS1 -7/23/13).
One of the nestlings appears to have been pushed off to the side by the other nestlings (left side of parent).

Meanwhile, over at NS2 on the other side of the Wetlands…

An immature green heron from another nest, presumably outside of our Wetlands (7/24/13).

The young heron in the above photo was in the same tree as NS2 and was being watched very carefully by the adult tending to her two nestlings. The immature bird got within four or five feet of the nest and decided to turn away. I later saw the visiting heron on the opposite side of the tree attempting to fish.

The “outsider” decided to fish instead of intrude on the resident, nesting heron (7/24/13).

And that’s the latest news from the Wetlands.

2 responses to Three of a Kind & a Visitor

  1. jennifer says:

    Will the nestlings be wading anytime soon? Do herons ever swim like ducks?

    • Greg Dodge says:

      Supposedly, they fledge in about thirty days. The first one hatched on July 18 so it’ll probably be sometime during the second/third week of August before they leave the nest tree. We’ll probably see them dancing around the branches much sooner than that.
      Yes, herons, at least green herons, can swim. I’ve seen them jump in the water after fish and swim back to shore. Their swimming can be compared to ducks only in that they are floating in the water and paddling with their feet, but yeah, it is duck-like. If you’ve ever seen a Clapper Rail swim across a flooded salt marsh or creek you’ve seen something similar to a green heron swimming. That’s what the green heron’s swimming posture reminds me of, a swimming king or clapper rail.

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