Tag Archives: Great Blue Heron

GBH Triplets In The Skinny Tree, Foggy Morning

It was a foggy morning and I had just missed the adult Great Blue Heron feeding the chicks.

Great Blue Heron and Three Chicks
Great Blue Heron and Three Chicks

The adult was showing signs of leaving…

Great Blue Heron and Three Chicks
Great Blue Heron and Three Chicks

…and away s/he went.

Great Blue Heron Leaving The Nest
Great Blue Heron Leaving The Nest

The chicks hunkered down.

Great Blue Heron Triplet Chicks
Great Blue Heron Triplet Chicks

One was a little more curious, soon they will be wing flapping.

Great Blue Heron Triplet Chicks
Great Blue Heron Triplet Chicks

Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, Charleston, SC
April 15, 2023

Great Blue Heron, Close Up

Every spring there seems to be one Great Blue Heron that hangs out on the edges of Ravenswood Lake, likely a chick from last year that for whatever reason didn’t become part of a pair for this year’s breeding season.

Great Blue Heron
Great Blue Heron

Undeterred by humans passing by on the nature trail, this one prowls the banks.

Great Blue Heron
Great Blue Heron

On this morning he appeared to be just looking around, not actively hunting.

Great Blue Heron
Great Blue Heron

Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
April 20, 2023

GBH Triplets In The Skinny Tree

The Skinny Tree is hanging on and once again hosting a Great Blue Heron family.

Great Blue Heron Feeding Three Chicks
Great Blue Heron Feeding Three Chicks

There are three chicks, and amazingly all three appear to be thriving.

Great Blue Heron and Three Chicks
Great Blue Heron and Three Chicks

Other nests with triplets that I have observed over the years have at least one chick being much smaller and not surviving.

Great Blue Heron and Three Chicks
Great Blue Heron and Three Chicks

This year’s nest is pretty small compared to other years which will be a challenge for the family as the chicks grow.

Great Blue Heron and Three Chicks
Great Blue Heron and Three Chicks

Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, Charleston, SC
April 12, 2023

Great Blue Heron Precarious Landing

Or, Tree-top Dancer

Great Blue Heron Treetop Landing
Great Blue Heron Treetop Landing

The big birds sometimes show lapses in judgement…

Great Blue Heron Treetop Landing
Great Blue Heron Treetop Landing

I’m sure this scrawny tree top hold me up…

Great Blue Heron Treetop Landing
Great Blue Heron Treetop Landing

Tip-toe a little…

Great Blue Heron Treetop Landing
Great Blue Heron Treetop Landing

Flap a bit…

Great Blue Heron Treetop Landing
Great Blue Heron Treetop Landing

He kept trying longer than I expected…

Great Blue Heron Treetop Landing
Great Blue Heron Treetop Landing

…but in the end, exited stage right.

Great Blue Heron Treetop Landing
Great Blue Heron Treetop Landing

Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, Charleston, SC
March 14, 2023

Great Blue Heron Flying With Nesting Material

Back and forth from the nest, the Great Blue Herons continue to work on the nest even after the eggs are laid and hatch.

Great Blue Heron Flying For Nesting Material
Great Blue Heron Flying For Nesting Material
Great Blue Heron Flying For Nesting Material
Great Blue Heron Flying For Nesting Material
Great Blue Heron Flying For Nesting Material
Great Blue Heron Flying For Nesting Material
Great Blue Heron Flying With Nesting Material
Great Blue Heron Flying With Nesting Material

Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, Charleston, SC
March 5, 2023

Great Blue Heron: Close Fly Bys

Sometimes the nesting birds fly closer than I expect. I cut his wing off but still liked the image.

Great Blue Heron Flying By
Great Blue Heron Flying By

This paved path runs the length of Ravenswood Pond, home of the Skinny Tree, that I was watching when this GBH flew in. There is a lot of loose tree debris that is easy pickings and it’s just a few wing flaps back to the nest.

Great Blue Heron Flying By
Great Blue Heron Flying By

Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, Charleston, SC
March 5, 2023