The bird from my post Young Great Blue Heron Stalking Lunch continued his stalking practice after dropping the stick.
He was in the shade at the edge of a pond with reflection of trees on the other side creating a dreamy look.
He poked at the water a few times, but I didn’t see any serious attempts to catch anything.
Mirror, mirror in the water…
…I wonder what he sees.
A juvenile Great Blue Heron was stalking the edge of the pond where he has spent his life so far at Swan Lake and Iris Gardens.
At Swan Lake there are many swans that a young heron should be attentive to.
Perhaps this Mute Swan realized the heron was no threat as he didn’t get up as the stalking went on behind him.
The heron wasn’t much of a threat to any fish, either.
Ptooey!
Later in the morning I saw a parent bring him some food as he’s still learning how to catch his own.
The Great Blue Heron I was photographing with the Azalea color also entertained me with a fish nab.
Waved it around a bit…
left and right…
…followed by a quick toss.
One big swallow, the fish was gone.
A Great Blue Heron was stalking in chest high, to him, Iris fronds, at one of the small ponds at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens. A few blooming Azaleas can be seen in the background.
I moved right, the GBH moved left, and briefly got him lined up with the color.
The Great Blue kept on moving down into the water giving me a different perspective of the pink reflections.
March 23, 2021
Slowly, slowly a Great Blue Heron waded into the pond.
Something in this tangle of last year’s hibiscus growth caught his attention.
He tried a couple of “foot up” efforts to lean in.
I kept expecting him to reach in and nab something, but he had to get closer…
… it wasn’t a very graceful maneuver.
He got his balance.
Then stared into the vegetation, and stared some more.
Finally I moved on and when I’d rounded the corner the GBH was flying to the bank. I couldn’t tell if he had success on his hunt or not.
I think that cement thing is an old planter and one of the smaller bridges to nowhere is beyond it.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens
March 12, 2021
This Great Blue Heron had been poking around the edge of the pond for quite awhile before deciding on this stick.
It’s hard to tell from a distance, but I would not be surprised if a stick got hung up in the tree on one of these trips.
This time he made a successful delivery.
The couple take plenty of breaks, nest building goes in fits and starts, while another GBH is likely laying on eggs on the nest below.
I arrived at the nest of the Floundering GBH Couple a few days later just as they started to mate.
A quick love bite on the neck
Some tricky maneuvering among the limbs proved they have the mating part figured out
The male quickly flew off in search of nest material…
He promptly returned with a small offering…
…much to the female’s delight.
The nest is bigger than last week, but it still has a bit to go before it is family ready.
She was at the nest, waiting expectantly as her mate returned, making a grand entrance.
He came empty-beaked: no sticks, no food.
And tried to defend his actions.
Notice how small the nest is; no where near ready for a family.
There seemed to be some disagreement about what to do next.
This was the scene under the Spoonbill Tree at Donnelley Wildlife Management Area on a recent cold and windy morning. The Roseate Spoonbills were wisely at the back of the pond, tucked under a bigger tree.
A few Gallinules were popping in and out view and the Great Blue Heron seemed on the verge of doing something as he repositioned several times.
The GBH moved back into the water when a Great Egret appeared. This dead tree, which has been a great perch for a Roseate Spoonbills over the last few years, has taken another step towards its end as another good size limb has fallen off this winter.
I was expecting the Heron to drive off the other birds the way he came back around the front of the island all puffed up.
But he decided to ignore whatever was going on behind him at least for the moment, as one lone gull paddled by.
February 4, 2021
This time the male Great Blue Heron (identified as the one that was fetching nest material) had a go at the Stuck Stick.
Pull!
Push!
The result was the same.
