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

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.