Tag Archives: Great Blue Heron

Wading Birds

Juvenile Great Blue Heron Feeding Himself

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Several of the Juvenile Great Blue Herons have left their nests around Magnolia Plantation. This one didn’t go far and was practicing his hunting skills when I passed him last week. His much smaller sibling was still in the skinny tree nest and I don’t know if the adults will continue to feed this one or if he is completely on his own now.

Juvenile Great Blue Heron
Juvenile Great Blue Heron

He exhibited the patience these herons are known for and he had some success…

Juvenile Great Blue Heron
Juvenile Great Blue Heron

… including being able to discard the vegetation he snagged…

Juvenile Great Blue Heron
Juvenile Great Blue Heron

… while keeping his prey.

Juvenile Great Blue Heron
Juvenile Great Blue Heron

Gone in one swallow!

Juvenile Great Blue Heron
Juvenile Great Blue Heron

Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, Charleston, SC
May 24, 2024

Wading Birds

Great Blue Heron Looking Around

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A Great Blue Heron was wandering the bank of the big old rice field pond. This bank was raised a few years ago when the pond was dredged to better accommodate the nature boat that Magnolia operates as part of their tourist operation.

Great Blue Heron
Great Blue Heron

It hasn’t been a pretty place to take photographs in the interim, but this year a variety of “weeds” have taken hold. You can still see some of the dredged mud behind the heron, but it does make a nice backdrop for our view of the bird.

Great Blue Heron
Great Blue Heron

Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
April 30, 2024

Wading Birds

Great Blue Heron and Chicks, Skinny Tree Nest

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The “skinny tree” is hosting a Great Blue Heron nest again this year.

Great Blue Heron and Chicks
Great Blue Heron and Chicks

Two chicks are sharing the space which seems very small compared to some other years.

Great Blue Heron and Chicks
Great Blue Heron and Chicks

That doesn’t stop them from exploring their new world, chewing on each other when not pestering mom to get fed.

Great Blue Heron and Chicks
Great Blue Heron and Chicks

She was ignoring them while I was watching, and soon after this the little ones settled back down out of my sight.

Great Blue Heron and Chicks
Great Blue Heron and Chicks

Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
March 26, 2024

Wading Birds

Three’s A Crowd

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You could also file this under “timing is everything.” A couple minutes sooner I might have seen different action. A couple minutes later and I wouldn’t have known any of this.

I walked past the skinny tree and took this first picture of the GBH standing on the nest. The lighting wasn’t great, but if you peek through the lower branches you can make out a second heron standing on a lower level. It was almost closing time so I moved along.

Great Blue Heron on Nest in the Skinny Tree
Great Blue Heron on Nest in the Skinny Tree

Not two minutes later a loud ruckus was happening. I turned back to see that the mate had returned to the nest and took issue with the GBH below.

Great Blue Heron Kerfuffle in the Skinny Tree
Great Blue Heron Kerfuffle in the Skinny Tree

A lot of posturing and wing flapping went on.

Great Blue Heron Kerfuffle in the Skinny Tree
Great Blue Heron Kerfuffle in the Skinny Tree

Eventually the lower GBH flew off, leaving the pair to have a moment, territory crisis averted.

Great Blue Heron Pair on Nest in the Skinny Tree
Great Blue Heron Pair on Nest in the Skinny Tree

Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
January 26, 2024

Wading Birds

Great Blue Heron Nests, 100mm Lens

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On Thursday I took only my Canon 100mm Macro lens to Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, planning on shooting flowers, not birds. That didn’t stop me from passing through the Ravenswood Pond Great Blue Heron rookery to see what was happening. And I got some scenic images of the nests.

Great Blue Heron Standing On Nest
Great Blue Heron Standing On Nest, A couple of White Ibis were in the lower branches

The “close tree” is occupied by one nesting pair in the top spot.

Great Blue Heron Standing On Nest
Great Blue Heron Standing On Nest

Out on the island there are at least four active GBH nests, with these three the most visible. The tree that hosted the nest with the best angles for viewing fell over sometime last fall.

Great Blue Heron Standing On Nest
Great Blue Heron Standing On Nest

Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
January 25, 2024