Blue Herons: Nest Building, Comings and Goings, Courtship Rituals, Plumes, and Beavers

A blue heron soars through the air with a twig for its nest.

The natural areas of Fort Collins are hotspots of bird activity in the spring. Cattail Chorus Natural Area has a colony of blue herons in the surrounding cottonwood trees that are entertaining to watch. While I was there, I observed them coming and going building their nests, courtship rituals, their fancy plumes bobbing in the air along with their gawky bodies, and even a beaver swimming in the pond.

Nest Building

The male blue herons gather the sticks and twigs needed from the ground before returning to the nest tree and handing over the sticks to their lady loves. The female blue herons are responsible for building and tending the nest.

A blue heron prepares to land at the colony with a twig in its beak.

Blue herons busy in the spring building their nests.

In the spring, nest building is a busy time for blue herons.

Comings and Goings

If you spend any time at a blue heron colony you will notice its a hubbub of activity. Between feeding themselves and building their nest there isn’t much time for anything else.

There are constant comings and goings at the colony in an attempt to make the best nest possible.

Blue herons can take anywhere from 3 days to 2 weeks to build their nests.

Courtship Rituals

Elaborate courtship rituals are on full display at this blue heron colony. Herons have ritualized greetings, stick transfers and a nest relief ceremony where they erect their plumes and clapper their bill tips. (All about birds)

The handoff of the nesting stick is a key component of the courtship ritual of blue herons.

The presentation of the stick to the female blue heron isn’t quite right yet.

Ah…the presentation of the nesting stick is going better this time.

Plumes

Blue herons have three different types of plumes or feathers. The black plumes on the top of their head are called occipital plumes. The soft lighter plumes on the sides of the wings are scapular plumes. The wispy plumes at the bottom of their S curved neck are pectoral plumes. You can see the occipital plume on the male heron below is erect as he gives the female his stick for the nest. To read more about blue heron plumes follow this link.

The three types of plumes (occipital, scapuler, pectoral) on a blue heron are easily evidenced here.

As a blue heron prepares to land on it’s nest, the occipital plume stands up on it’s head.

A blue heron prepares to land, as another prepares to take off, and two sit in a nest.

Beaver

It seems like a given, but I’ll mention that there happened to be a pond below these heron colonies. As I was starting to leave, I saw this little beaver swimming in the water. It was late morning so I was a bit surprised to see him.

After foraging for food, a beaver heads back to it’s lodge.

I was lucky to snap a closeup before he disappeared below the water surface.

A beaver makes a perfect reflection in the water.

You never know what you are going to see when you head out. Most days that feel like nothing special often turn out to be unique. Having the opportunity to watch the herons nest building and then to see a beaver was truly spectacular. I can’t wait for my next adventure!