A big bird can carry a big stick. Herons don't, however, talk softly.
I had the day off to attend to some personal business. Thing is, it wasn’t all-day business and with the morning dawning clear and bright, I headed back to the heron rookery we enjoyed a bit more than a week ago. The community nesting site is alongside Bath Road south of Peninsula, Ohio.
A heron slows and flares up to gently land on the branches of a tree.
The Great Blue Herons were still at their nest building with big birds swooping down from the trees, collecting twigs, branches, and other materials, then lofting to the treetops.
Great wings spread the heron lands, its mate barely visible in the nest.
Alighting in the thin branches and on their nests, the collected twig is delivered to the waiting mate and appropriately placed to become part of the nest.
The arriving heron delivers the twigs and strokes his mate along her side.
Lunging from the nest, the collector begins another cycle of careful selection and delivery of construction material. Soon chicks will appear in the nests and then, for mom and dad heron, the work really begins!
Off again, the Great Blue takes flight seeking more nesting material.
It was a fine morning of bird photography and I filled two memory cards with images. Once back, I deleted a few pictures but most were worth keeping and some were quite good; I’m happy to have shared a few here.
Really beautiful! Great shots! We watched some eagles building a nest a few years back. It’s amazing watching such huge birds doing something we see little birds do all the time. It’s different somehow.
The new super-telephoto came in just in time, I had the day off, and the morning’s weather was perfect. I was delighted with the results and love those big birds! I’ve only seen free Bald Eagles from great distance and would love to see their nest-building activities. Eagle nests are truly huge! Must have been fascinating to watch. Thanks for the compliments!