Great Blue Herons courting

Great Blue Herons courting, February 6, 2022

I returned to the Great Blue Heron (GBH) nest a few weeks after my first sighting to check on the two chicks. I did not see chicks. Since the nestling period is 49 - 81 days, I imagined that those two chicks did not make it.

Instead, two adult GBHs were courting. 

They entwined their necks and sometimes preened each other. I noticed that one had grey, sort of muddy markings on the crown much like the female Yellow-Crowned Night Heron has dark mustard markings on her crown when nesting.

 They wove nest twigs like graduate-student basket weavers.

Even when he flew down to get a drink, he kept his eye on her.

A White Pelican flies past the female GBH standing in the nest.

So far, their courtship and nesting behaviors seem similar to the Yellow Crowned Night Herons.

Note: Heron nest located a short distance from Wildewood Springs.

Walks to be with the wild

Great Blue Heron at the water's edge.

I'm reading Our Wild Calling by Richard Louv. It's byline is "how connecting with animals can transform our lives (and save theirs)." I immediately understand the premise and relate to the many stories about connecting with wildlife.

Walks in our precious neighborhood settle my mind. My breath and heart beat slow. Nature soothes. These photographs hardly match seeing and hearing the first cardinal's morning call or noticing the silhouette of a Wood Stork high in a Slash Pine near the pond waiting for what comes next. Still, I take these photographs to remember and show you with a hope that our joy and appreciation leads to care of this extraordinary habitat we all call home.

So, in the last week or so, here are a few things I saw.

Just rounding the corner of Pineneedle, I saw a Red-Shouldered Hawk looking for breakfast.

Flocks of American Widgeons on the big pond. Two males are followed by a female.

This pair, a mixed duck breed and an almost Mallard partner, familiar now to so many of us. Hello old friends.

Lesser Scaups on the big pond.

Not in our neighborhood yet not far away, I drove by the utilities pond on 53rd and noticed hundreds of birds. 

I circled back to use my camera to get a closer look. Ducks, mostly Redhead, Shovelers, Scaup. And White Pelicans.

I was on my way home from an early beach walk where I had one of those incredible encounters - with a Brown Pelican.

I'm happy to have this memory. Terry took a photograph as I sat to enjoy Terns on Anna Maria Island near Pine Street.

Have you noticed the newly added limb to the Barred Owl Nesting box? I hear Barred Owls many mornings and hope so much they will find that spot just right to raise a family of owlets.

Last, a memory popped up on my screen. Last year at this time, a newly hatched small turtle at our front door. Grandson Gavin picked it up and took it to the pond.