Beautiful Great Blue Herons Beginning their Nest
Great blue herons beginning to build their new nest with a huge branch.
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Thanks to Cheri Rowlands Lucas and WordPress for the Weekly Photo Challenge: Beginnings challenge.
Thanks to Praire Birder Charlotte for the Feathers on Friday challenge.
Thanks to Ailsa for her Where’s My Backpack: Birds challenge.
Thanks to the kind folks at SkyWatch Friday.
Thanks to the kind folks at Wordless Saturday.
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A selection of my heron and flower photos is now available at the Five Crows Gallery in Natick, MA. Drop in and see the work of the many wonderfully creative artists who show there when you’re in the area.
Five Crows is on FaceBook. To give the gallery a visit, please click here.
Remember: Walk softly and carry a long lens.™
The Tao of Feathers™
(This photo was taken May 19, 2011.)
© 2013 Babsje. (https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com)
Great Blue Heron, Nest Builging
Posted on January 4, 2014, in ardea herodias, Art, Feathers on Friday, Great Blue Heron, Nature Photography, Photography, postaday, Skywatch Friday, Weekly Photo Challenge, Weekly Travel Themes, Wildlife Photography and tagged great blue heron, postaday. Bookmark the permalink. 19 Comments.
Flying with branch was how I discovered my eagle’s nest. Wonderful shot, as usual!
That’s an excellent way to locate nests, good for you!
A fantastic photo!
Have a wonderful week-end!
Lea
Thanks, I’m glad you like it, and same to you!
Lovely photo, Happy New Year!
Thanks, and Happy New Year to you, as well!
Beautiful capture!
Thank you, so glad you like it!
How interesting to find this great bird with nesting materials! Love this shot.
I’m so glad you like it, thanks for visiting and commenting here. Fast forward just under 3 months from that day and the baby herons fledged. Here’s a post about that experience: https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com/2013/07/20/freshly-fledged-weekly-photo-challenge-fresh/
Beautiful capture of the flight… so close to life.. carrying material for its nest.
Thanks for your kind comment, I’m glad you like this photo. Here’s another post about those same two herons building that nest: https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com/2013/07/05/our-love-must-be-some-kind-of-blind-love-weekly-photo-challenge-companionable/
HI Babsje Great shot. Yes Herons are some of the first to build their nests. Now you know where it is, you can take in the progress of hopefuly breeding of the young.
Thanks, Margaret. You’re right, and I did exactly that, from nest building on May 19th through final fledging of two chicks on August 19th, and then the return of those two juveniles the following year. What a thrill! Here’s one of the other posts about their nest building:
https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com/2013/06/05/wherein-he-gets-the-girl/
They are so amazing the way they rebuild every year – I love to watch their arrival because the female is not always happy with their choices! Nicely done Babsje
Many thanks for your kind words, Tina, glad you like this one. Here, the herons repurpose their nests from prior years, but do a bit of “home improvement” to strengthen and freshen up the nursery. The nest they were building the day I took that photo, however, was one they constructed entirely from scratch. The old nest on that island had been felled when the tall tree came down. They used that new nest in 2012 and again in 2013, I’m looking forward to see if they use it again. Here’s a post I wrote earlier about the old vs new nest on that island: https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com/2013/11/21/beautiful-great-blue-herons-pair-bonding-at-the-nest/
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