March 4, 2008
We had to visit the Great Blue Heron Nature Reserve today, it was sunny and we wanted to see the Great Blue Herons nesting while we had some better light for photographs.
We stopped in at the Rotary Interpretive Centre and said hello to Muriel, Val and Christine, then as we were heading out for our walk, we ran into Bill Clark and had a short chat with him before we got busy photographing birds.
The pretty little female Scaup is still floating by itself on the North Lagoon and Chickadees were still busy along the pathways as we walked along.
The Great Blue Herons are so busy with their nests and we had so much enjoyment out of watching the beautiful birds. They totally distracted us from getting any other bird photos. They were flying in with sticks for the nests and flying out to get more.
Eagles seem to be more abundant now as well. There were young ones and mature ones, sitting in trees and flying together in pairs and alone. We couldn’t get over how many we saw. The pair that sits near the Heron Rookery came flying in to their favourite tree which caused a few Great Blue Herons to comment in Heron noises about their arrival. We think that the Herons might not be happy about the Eagles in the vicinity.
There were so many Great Blue Herons at the Rookery that we had a field day getting photographs. The noises they were making were very hard to describe, they sort of moan and bark at each other at the moment. They are very eerie sounds to hear. Some Herons would stand alone watching, waiting and searching for a mate; while some of them were repairing their nest.
Other Herons were paired up, sitting quietly on their chosen nest together; perhaps the nest was the same one from last year and seemed to be in good shape, so there wasn’t much for the couple to do except enjoy each other’s company.
One Heron flew in with a stick and gave it to another Heron; this one then placed the stick carefully across an open branch while the other Heron stood very proudly next to it.
We think that it might be a new nest in the making but we are not sure yet; this could be a mating ritual.
Then there was one nest in particular that was a prime example of what some of the other Herons were doing. There was a Heron busy fixing and repairing its nest and on either side there were two other Herons. The one fixing the nest was very defensive toward the other two Herons.
We stopped in at the Rotary Interpretive Centre and had a nice chat with Janet and William before heading home. We certainly enjoyed ourselves watching these amazing birds and we will get back to get more photos soon.
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March 2, 2008
We got to the Great Blue Heron Nature Reserve this morning and found the Double-crested Cormorant standing on its favourite log on the North Lagoon, just as we were passing, it seemed to be pointing to where all the Great Blue Herons were.
There were a lot of Great Blue Heron around the reserve today, often we would see them flying overhead as we walked.
Red-winged Blackbirds sang their melodies as we wandered along the path.
A Kingfisher laughed its way across the lagoon and stopped on a branch on the other side long enough for us to get a few quick photos.
From the bridge over the Salwein Creek we caught a glimpse of three Pied-billed Grebes swimming together.
A female Hairy Woodpecker busied herself with hunting for insects on the trunk of a Cottonwood tree and nearby a male Downy Woodpecker on another Cottonwood did the same thing.
There were quite a few Song Sparrows along the pathways, singing and watching as we walked along.
Juncos flitted ahead of us, stopping in blackberries for a moment before heading off in search of something to eat.
American Robins are everywhere now, they are a common sight for us but still beautiful to see. We found one with two tail feathers with white tips.
Common Mergansers were on the North Lagoon as well, as we were watching the Mergansers, a pair of Canada Geese flew past the Double-crested Cormorant on its log.
There were quite a few Bald Eagles flying around the reserve today and the resident pair was sitting on their favourite Cottonwood tree as usual. A young Bald Eagle sat in a Cottonwood watching everything with Eagle eyes.
We stopped in to say hello to Leon who showed us some fabulous video from the Heron cams that are set up at the Heron Rookery (nests). The Great Blue Heron were busy straightening sticks in the nests and posturing for each other. They are beautiful to watch.
Before we left, we had a chat with Scott and Connie who were manning the Rotary Interpretive Centre this morning.
We had lunch and went back to the reserve for another hour.
There, we came across a pair of Bewick’s Wrens that were chattering to each other and scavenging for insects through the blackberries and dry grass. We spent most of our time, watching and photographing them before we headed back to the Rotary Interpretive Centre.
Mallards also got a bit of attention as well at the East Bird Blind.
Buffleheads swam and dived in the North Lagoon as we passed by and another little female Bufflehead looked sweetly at us on the Salwein Creek.
Chickadees hung off of Alder cones digging for seeds.
Just as we were heading back a magnificent Golden Eagle flew right over our heads. The beautiful bird kept going toward the Heron Rookery.
We stopped in again at the Rotary Interpretive Centre and had a chat with Dick, Eileen and Eileen. Then as we were leaving we said hello to the Wards working on cleaning up the gardens.
We had a great weekend and hope that you did too.
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