Finally, Spring Is Here!
A heron takes in the morning sunrise while hoping to find breakfast.
What is spring to you? Spring to me is the sound of birds chirping, squirrels frolicking, geese honking, bulbs blooming, grass greening, and babies! The first edition of my spring blog will focus primarily on the blue herons return to Northern Colorado and their nesting habits.
As I walked around town and went about my errands this last month, I began to notice signs that spring is finally here. The first thing I noticed while getting gas at Costco in late March were the birds flocking around the cell phone tower off I-25. I quickly identified them as blue herons and about as quickly realized that they were starting to build nests at the top of the towers! Soon after, I saw an article in the Coloradoan and some posts on Nextdoor explaining that the tree the blue herons use to nest in off of I-25 (just south and west of Harmony) fell over in the wind last summer. Apparently, the herons poop killed the tree and all it took was a hearty gust of wind to blow it down. Birds, being birds, had to adapt quickly and find a new location for their nests. I guess the cell phone towers looked like a good substitute. On the bright side, they can’t kill it with their poop and it won’t blow over in the wind! :)
Three blue herons adapt to ever changing surroundings and build nests on this cell phone tower.
Nest Building
Blue heron nesting colonies can contain up to 500 nests. Clearly, the cell phone towers weren’t going to hold that many nests. Once I looked around a little, I found a couple of trees nearby along the Poudre River that were housing more blue heron colonies. Arriving early in the morning one day, I was able to see the constant coming and goings of the blue herons while they built their nests. Their was a ton of activity!
A blue heron colony
The male blue herons arrive at the nesting site first and court passing females. Once the males have a mate they go in search of sticks and twigs to build the nests.
A male blue heron returns to the nest with a stick for the female to help build the nest.
Blue herons can take from 3 days up to 2 weeks to build a nest
When I tell you the nest building activity is constant, it is nonstop!
A blue heron prepares to land on a nest
A blue heron swoops down from its nest to the base of the cottonwoods in order to find sticks and twigs for its nest.
Once the heron finds a suitable twig it will deliver it back to the female waiting in the nest.
A blue heron flies by one colony to take a stick back to its nest at another nearby colony.
The sticks are not much smaller than their long, narrow legs.
The heron can look quite goofy as it comes in for a landing on the nest
Back and forth, back and forth, the blue herons go while building their nests.
The female heron eagerly awaits for the male's return with the stick.
The heron launches itself off of the nest like a heat seeking missile.
Pair Bonding and Courtship Rituals
If you watch the delivery and transfer of the stick from the male heron to the female you may notice some courtship rituals and pair bonding exercises going on.
A male blue heron brings a stick back to the nest for the female to arrange.
Part of the courting ritual of blue herons is how the female receives the stick for the nest.
Two nesting herons exchange the stick for the nest.
When the nest building is done, the herons can rest easy from their perch high above
Arapahoe Bend Natural Area
It goes without saying that once all these nests are built, the herons are probably pretty hungry. A couple of days later I went to Arapahoe Bend Natural Area early in the morning. Due to the close proximity of the blue heron colonies, the place was packed with herons!
A blue heron patiently waits for a fish in the golden morning light.
Full Moon Landscape Photography
I love getting to my photography locations at sunrise. The light is outstanding and the wildlife is usually fairly active. Besides seeing all the herons, I was able to get a little landscape photography in as well. Unbeknownst to me, the full moon would soon set on this spectacular morning.
Longs Peak is bathed in pink hues as the sun rises and the full moon sets in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Twin silos bathed in morning light stand alongside a full moon.
Walking around the many ponds I found heron after heron as I waited for the moon to sink lower. Some were hanging out along the edges in pockets of light.
A heron waits for a fish on the edge of a pond.
While others were flying from here to there to find the best fishing spot.
A heron prepares to land.
A heron is backlit by the early morning sun.
Finally, the moon began to set behind the mountains. Any longer and I would have missed it as the brightness of the sun was starting to diminish the moon’s brightness.
The April full moon begins to set behind the mountains of Fort Collins.
Could the moon be any bigger?
Ducks And More Herons
The ponds weren’t only full with herons but many, many ducks. Most of the ducks were pretty skittish. As I approached, they would fly away. However, this Common Merganser let me get a quick shot in before she swam off.
A female Common Merganser swims off to find its mate.
A heron moves to a new fishing hole.
A heron soars above the water.
As I began walking around further, I came across these three herons basking in the morning glow of sunlight. It makes you wonder how many fish are in these ponds and how many will be left after the breeding season has concluded.
Three hungry blue herons.
The heron gives a shimmy and a shake before getting back to the business of fishing.
A blue heron grabs nesting material with its beak before it heads back to the nesting colony.
With a full tummy, the heron heads back to the nest in order to gather more sticks for the nest.
A heron flies low over a pond in the morning light.
I can’t tell you how excited I am for spring! I love when the blackbirds return, the animals start frolicking outside again, the bulbs start blooming, nests are built, and the baby animals hatch or are born. Every day in the spring is an adventure and I plan to be out there recording more signs of spring. Stay tuned for more spring wanderings…
For more information about blue herons: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Blue_Heron/lifehistory#
