Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Great Blue Heron nesting

I am linking up with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes

 On Sunday, I happened to be at the window watching my yardbirds when I noticed a big shadow flying by. At first I thought it was one of the usual Turkey or Black Vultures but when I looked up I noticed the long legs. Our neighborhood herons are back on their old nest, this is the third year in a row.



After seeing the heron flying over my yard, I walked across my driveway to the woods. I could look toward my neighbors place and with the leaves off the tree the nest is pretty visible. And to my surprised both Great Blue herons were on the nest.


Even my neighbors are excited to see the herons back, it will be fun to watch their progress and to see and hear the heron chicks.




Seeing the Great Blue Herons is a sure sign spring is here. I hope you enjoyed my post and thanks for stopping by. I appreciate your comments too!

Join in and post your birdies and to see more beautiful and wonderful bird photos please visit:
 Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday and Michelle's  Nature Notes.
Thanks to Stewart for hosting Wild Bird Wednesday and thanks to Michelle for hosting Nature Notes.
I wish everyone a happy week ahead and Happy Birding!

63 comments:

mick said...

Great photos and how lovely to have the pair of birds back again. I look forward to seeing more of them - especially when the chicks come.

caite said...

as many herons as I have seen, I have never seen a nest...it is time to pack up the lenses and head out to the Wildlife Refuge or down to Cape May!

Reader Wil said...

Hi Eileen! You are a real master in taking such great photos of birds, something I still cannot do . I once saw a heron on a lamppost, but your herons are very beautiful on their nests in the trees, and that' s what I should like to see as well.
Thanks for your visit and comment.

Anonymous said...

Great photos Eileen. Our herons won't be back for a few weeks yet. nice to have a nest so close by to keep an eye on :))

Karen said...

Oh how fantastic to have these birds nesting so close! Excellent captures!

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Yes---sounds like spring is coming to your area, Eileen. So glad that your Heron family is back... I'm sure you will keep us posted as to their family progress.

Hugs,
Betsy

HansHB said...

Lovely photos!
Nice to see!
Happy WBW!

Lynne said...

Now this made my day . . . such wonderful photos and learning thatbyou will be having the nesting Heron's again this year. What a treat! Exciting indeed . . .

Rohrerbot said...

If these landed in my yard, I'd think the world was ending. Excellent birds to have on one's yardlist!

TexWisGirl said...

SOOO jealous! would love to find a nest here!

DIMI said...

Hallo Eileen!!Great news!!So beautiful the Herons returned to there nest!!Amazing photos!!Thank you for sharing!Hope you have a wonderful week!
Dimi..

Anonymous said...

Wow, such lovely photo's! :)

HappyK said...

Way cool to see two of the up in a nest!!

annies home said...

beautiful come read my post of one of my favorites at http://shopannies.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

What a fun resourse for taking photos. Thanks for bringing us along.

NatureFootstep said...

Great news Eileen. It will be nice for us too to be a part of it. :) I hope you will keep us updated. :)

Karen said...

What a magnificent bird, you are lucky to have these in your backyard, and great shots of them too.

Bob Bushell said...

Beautiful nest building Herons, cheers Eileen.

Elizabeth Edwards said...

what a beauty. love those feathers. awesome!! ( :

Carver said...

Fantastic shots of the Great Blue Herons in the nest.

Debbie said...

I am so jealous!! My very most favorite subject to photograph, you got some amazing shots!!

~~~jennifer~~~ said...

Awesome!!! I love blue herons. Great pics!

Anonymous said...

Your shots of the nesting Great Blue herons are amazing Eileen. Their plumage is stunning.

Reena said...

Oh how wonderful for you to watch them raise their young!

Carletta said...

That's exciting news Eileen! You got some good shots before the leaves come out. I know you're hoping to be able to get shots of the chicks too. I hope that happens so we can all see.:)

Brian King said...

I have to say I'm pretty jealous! I'd love to find a rookery, but never have. Love these shots!

AVCr8teur said...

How cool to have these big birds visit and nest nearby! I have to go to a nature preserve to see them.

DeniseinVA said...

Fabulous photos of the herons Eileen. I look forward to future ones.

Leave It To Davis said...

They sure are handsome birds!

Rebecca said...

Very cool series of photos!

Ginny Hartzler said...

These pictures are amazing!!! It seems to me to be a rare thing to see these herons on their nest, truly awesome.

Phil Slade said...

How wonderful having the herons nesting so close Eileen. Over here our Grey Herons nest early too and they will all be on eggs now. Great shots of the pair in the tree and I look forward to seeing the chicks, as long as the opening leaves dont spoil your shots.

Les Fous du Cap said...

Hi !
Great series ;-)
Céline & Philippe

Stewart M said...

It must be great to have birds like that close to your house - but I think I'd have trouble getting to work with birds like to watch on the home patch!

Cheers and thanks for linking to WBW

Stewart M - Melbourne

Icy BC said...

They are fantastic photos to see, Eileen! Beautiful birds!

Unknown said...

Great sequence!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

Lovable Derek said...

Great photos and a wonderful narrative.
Thanks for this delightful post

George said...

These are wonderful photos of the herons. I'm glad they're back. If we can get through the next two or three nights, perhaps Spring will arrive here as well.

rainfield61 said...

Even your readers are excited to see the herons back.

i stora drag said...

Oh, lucky you! Fantastic to see both of them in the nest, and so near your home! Really exciting, I hope you will show us the babies later on.
Greetings Pia

Nell at njschout said...

Enjoyed your photos, Eileen! : )

Noushka said...

You've done well considering the difficulty of shooting through the branches!
Great pics, Eileen!

Jen Sanford said...

Very cool! I look forward to your sightings!

Richard Pegler said...

Herons always look out of place to me when they are in trees - although I know it's their natural habitat!

Great photos Eileen!

Flat Creek Farm said...

Oh my! I wouldn't have been able to contain my excitement. You are blessed! Gorgeous captures. I have been trying (for years - maybe not hard enough? ha) to get some good captures of our local herons. I'm not certain what type, but I think Great Blue. I suspect they nest behind our house and barn. When I see them, they are in flight off the pond, darn. Thanks so much for sharing these!

Gail Dixon said...

Eileen, these are so amazing! I've never seen GBH parents in a nest before. Really super images. Yay for spring!

Our Neck of the Woods said...

Woah, how neat! I love these shots. Very cool birds :)

Glad you are seeing signs of spring!

Rambling Woods said...

Oh wow..I would love to have this near my house. I haven't seen any this year yet and true, they are a sign of spring.. Michelle

Amanda said...

Yay for spring in your part of the world. Very exciting to have a pair to watch.

Larry said...

What a wondrous thing to be able to watch Great Blue Herons nesting in your neighborhood Eileen! These are awesome photos of the nesting birds. I can't wait to see your future posts of the nestlings!

Anonymous said...

Fantastic shots of the Heron ~ Wow! ~ Enjoy ^_^

Thanks for coming by .

Anonymous said...

Such delightful pictures!

Thank you for your kind comment re my great niece!

Montanagirl said...

Amazing photos! How fun to watch the nesting progress. (P.S. I'm jealous!! LOL)

Neil said...

Great series.

Maria said...

See, you live in a super gorgeous place, and look what you found. The first shot is gorgeous, you got really close!

Maude Lynn said...

What gorgeous pictures!

Anonymous said...

what awesome birds! Aren't you lucky to be able to see there babies! Thank you for visiting my site.

Ebie said...

I've seen only a few since I started to get interested in birding. I am excited to do my first bird walk.

Elaine said...

What fun to be able to see these guys nesting! I look forward to seeing more photos.

Black Jack's Carol said...

How nice to see your beautiful shot of the nesting herons. We are just starting to watch them here (Vancouver) as well. They returned in the first week of March.

Lew said...

Great shots of the sunrise! My favorite is the 3-rd with the whole sky orange. Nice to have the Heron close by.

Mary Howell Cromer said...

Oh My Goodness Eileen, Great Blue Herons right there for you and nesting...how exciting. These images are wonderful!

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

I wonder where they spend the winter? We still have them around here..I just saw some last weekend. Again, you are so lucky to have them so close; I'm glad they came back to you.

Saturday's Critters # 571

  Welcome to Saturday's Critters!  Hello and Happy Saturday!  If you love all God's creatures like I do and also like to blog about ...