Harriet, Hank, and Freddy?

Late yesterday afternoon I was in the kitchen, making dinner.  It had been raining and then the sun broke thru the clouds, so I went to the living room window to see if there was a rainbow.  Conditions weren’t just right for a rainbow, but I saw something else beautiful instead.

There was a Great-blue Heron and a pair of Mallards.

As I looked a little more, I saw two more herons.

Last year, for the first time in the 36 years we’ve lived here, a pair of Great-blue Herons nested in the beaver swamp across the road.

This was very exciting and we watched the nest closely.  Herons usually nest in colonies, and there is a large colony of them along the Susquehanna River, but that’s quite a few miles from us, and not easy to see even if you go there.  Now we had a nest we could watch everyday! 
 

When I asked a bird expert about our lone heron’s nest, he told me that occasionally a pair does this.  He said they might continue to nest by themselves in the future, or perhaps more will join them.

We had a wonderful spring and early summer watching the adults incubate the eggs...then, finally some fuzzy heads appeared! 

They got bigger and bigger quickly -- four babies when we could finally count them!

Here they are looking as big as the adult, who came to feed them and is sitting on top of the tree.

Unfortunately, one very hot, sunny day, the smallest one did not make it, but the other three continued to grow and then practice stretching and flapping their wings.  They also practiced the motion they would make once they would be feeding themselves, by making quick, stabbing motions in the nest.  

They would walk out on the dead tree limbs and flap their wings.  We wondered if a limb would break!  It never did.  Herons have hollow bones like all birds, so even though they look heavy, they actually only weigh 5 to 6 pounds.

Finally, they each flew from the nest, one by one... and then they were fun to watch as they learned to fend for themselves in the swamp.  They also returned to the nest from time to time.

 So, anyway, back to yesterday afternoon.  Here were 3 herons.  Could they be our “babies” from last year?  I hope they are! 

 No one is using the heron nest this year.  Although for a few days, we thought this silly goose was going to!

I like to think these herons are the siblings who were raised in the nest last year.  They do seem to have some sibling rivalry going on, as the two in the back weren't acting very happy to be so close to each other.

One decided to try fishing somewhere else and the other one flew away, too.

“Hey, where are you going?”

“Guess I’m stuck here with the Mallards.  They’re not much fun... they just keep sticking their heads underwater!”