I’ve featured GBH antics in the “skinny tree” previous nesting years. These images were taken in late December, on a grey day, as a Great Blue was staking a claim to this coveted nesting spot. The tree is free standing in the pond, reducing the likelihood of predators arriving from below.

First order of business is to attract a mate.

None of the nesting material from last year survived and more of the tree has broken away. This adult and the selected mate will have a lot of work to make a viable nest.

In the last image the heron is performing a downward stretching and beak snapping behavior. There were a few other GBH around the pond, some working on nests in trees on the small islands, but none seemed impressed by this show.