Great Blue Herons make nesting colony near the garden

I am lucky to often see these magnificent birds on my pond’s edge stalking fish. They have 6 feet wingspan and long massive beaks on the end of very long necks. They will wade along the shoreline and stab into the water stunning the fish. They then catch the stunned fish and throw it on the bank.

After subduing their prey, they perform a juggling act.  They pitch the fish up in the air and catch it head first. This often takes a couple adjustments. As the head of the fish approaches the gullet, the heron stretches their long neck skyward and commences to swallow the fish whole.

Great Blue Heron – Ardea herodias. Notice the long plumage on the head and neck.

Here is a good picture from Wikipedia of this beautiful bird. The nests look to be made of large 2-4 foot branches placed at the very top of very large trees. They will raise a clutch of 3-6 eggs.

Adrian dislikes these birds because they feed on the fish in our stocked pond. But I rather enjoy watching these fishermen at work. They are just doing their business. The stocked bass are just now getting too big to swallow. I saw this happen a few days ago.

A murder of crows attracted my attention. They were trying the eat a bass on the bank while a heron, unable to swallow the fish and unable to walk away, halfheartedly tried to fend off the crows. As the heron would saunter away from the bass, the crows would hop near the bass and peck at it. The jealous heron, seeing this, would come back and try to pick up the fish. Unable to gulp down the fish, the heron would walk away giving leave to the crows.

I lost interest in the scene before its conclusion. It seemed obvious that the crows, endowed with the virtue of patience, would win this meal.

These birds are very shy. They fly at the first sign of humans. I am concerned that they are very close to the garden (100 yards or more) and that we will spook the birds from their rookery. We will keep the tractor clear of the garden as best we can over the next few weeks. Hopefully our work will not disrupt their business. I am more than happy to share fish for the enterprise. Especially now that sunfish have become their most likely edible prey.

From one fisherman to another: Good luck!

Seven chicks!

Update – 6/18/2014 – The Herons returned this year and I got a picture of some chicks in the nests.