July 8, 2016
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Great Blue Herons
This afternoon I had a little time to visit the Harbor to see if there were any great blue herons. Initially, there was one bird in a tree. Just as I got my camera ready, that bird flew away and another landed in the same spot by a nest. That bird only stayed a minute or two, and flew off in the same direction as the first one. I waited for a few minutes to see if either would return or if there might be others that would move around in the trees. After a few minutes, it appeared that there was nobody home, and I decided to move on. Behind the parking lot, there is a building that is headquarters for a ship-building company. As I drove past that building, I noticed three birds on the roof.
I quickly turned around and took photos of each of the three.
I turned around to see two sailboats entering the channel.
It's been lovely here this week -- cool and cloudy in the mornings, and temps around 80 in the afternoons. There's been a light breeze each afternoon -- enough to sail, but not enough to be windy -- and by dusk the clouds have been moving back in from the sea.
Comments (16)
Great pictures of blue herons and blue skies.
Thanks, Doris -- it was a beautiful afternoon, and the herons were wonderful standing together on that roof!
Love your photos. I love anything ocean. The herons are such majestic birds.
Thanks, Frank! I love seeing the herons again!
Ooh! There are herons again!! Great photos. I wish I could get closeups like that but all I have is a phone or the one shot - not much good with distance!
After looking at the trees, I was a little dejected as I began to leave -- until I saw the birds on the roof! I'm afraid that, because I don't know where they live, I may have missed their season -- but at least I know they're not far away. I'll continue to watch the nests and to look for others! I use a 50-200 mm lens as a standard, but also do some cropping in the computer -- digital photography is amazing, even for an amateur like me!
We have herons that come to our pond, only now the weeds around the pond are so tall, that unless you see the heron land, you don't even know it's there. Usually just one comes at a time. One day I was surprised to see 2, though they kept their distance from each other. I guess they are solitary eaters.
The Harbor was a great nesting place -- there were enough trees for at least 10 nests! But when you see them feeding, you usually only see one or two at a time. They eat fish, and poke their heads in the water to catch the fish -- can you imagine the collisions if you had several fishing in the same place?! It was a real treat to see these 3 plus an egret all together!
I love to see herons. Haven't seen to many this summer here -- the creeks are quite dry, the river is very low and we've had temperatures in the 90's some days -- very unusual for Upstate NY! Love your pictures!
Thanks -- I was very excited to find these three, close to where there were many more a couple of years ago. They're beautiful, majestic birds.
I think herons are survivors. I wonder if they ever eat baby herons from other nests? I know ours eat baby ducks. We've seen them do it. Kind of a helpless feeling.
There are enough small fish in the sea, by the shore, that I don't believe they'd have to cannibalize. I suppose they might go after baby ducks. They are such majestic birds, and I think you're right that they are survivors.
Oh Janet, the pictures are GREAT! Such a beautiful capture of the herons, the sky and the water. I am sure you will be seeing your feathered friends soon enough.
I was so delighted to see the herons on the roof! I actually had to make a speedy u-turn to get to a spot where I could capture those shots! I'll definitely be back to see them again!
How fun to see the herons in a new location!
It ws a new location, but just around the corner. I hope to go back this weekend and see where they have gone then!
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