Quabbin birding and beyond: great blue heron nest

Showing posts with label great blue heron nest. Show all posts

Friday, July 7, 2023

A humid, hot and wet start for the first week of July with lots of young birds around

Hermit Thrush fledgling, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, Jul 5, 2023

The first week of July had a very tropical like feel with the first few days featuring multiple bouts of heavy rain and humid conditions and then the last few days bringing drier, hotter conditions with temps in the 90's. I only managed to get out a few mornings due to the weather and work. As expected there are lots of fledgling songbirds around. I started off the month with a few stops on my way to work on a gloomy morning adding some species to start the month with the most notable being the continued Soras and Blue Grosbeak in different parts of Hadley. It was raining again on the second and I was limited to very short walks so not much to add for the month beyond some largely expected species. As usual warblers figured prominently in my birding days and a post detailing the warblers for the week can be found at the following link).

Common Yellowthroat, Pelham, MA, Jul 3, 2023

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 3, 2023

On the third I had a rare day when I had the entire morning off but of course rained even more...when it was not raining it was instead raining heavily. I got soaked making a few short walks and didn't turn up anything unusual for the effort.

White tailed Deer, iPhone shot through binos, Pines Edge Conservation Area, Northampton, MA, Jul 4, 2023

Marsh at dawn, Pines Edge Conservation Area, Northampton, MA, Jul 4, 2023

I had to work on the holiday but still managed a short hike at Pines Edge Conservation Area where the mosquitoes were fierce. The small Great Blue Heron rookery at the marsh was mostly vacated by the young herons but one nest still had two nestlings in it.

Cerulean Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, Jul 5, 2023

Hermit Thrush fledgling, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, Jul 5, 2023

Yellow throated Vireo fledgling, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, Jul 5, 2023

Chipping Sparrow, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, Jul 5, 2023

High water at the Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Jul 5, 2023

The fifth ended up being the beginning of a heat wave with sunny conditions and temps around 90 by the middle of the day (with high humidity). After work and with a little bit of low clouds and fog I headed across the river and spent about an hour and a half at Skinner SP hiking to the summit and back. I was mainly trying to catch up with some species that are tough to get elsewhere in the county for July (like Cerulean Warbler, Worm eating Warbler and Dark eyed Junco) and I got them all. The Cerulean Warblers were still quite vocal with a few singing fairly regularly. I had some great views at various fledglings and a few allowed me to get a few photos. I also reached a bit of a milestone with the submission of my 45,000th complete eBird checklist with the hike at Skinner SP.

Great Blue Herons at nest, Pines Edge Conservation Area, Northampton, MA, Jul 7, 2023

Marsh, Pines Edge Conservation Area, Northampton, MA, Jul 7, 2023

On my way to work on the sixth I made another trip to Pines Edge Conservation Area and fought through the mosquitoes and other insects to make it out to the marsh. Oddly I had more young Great Blue Herons back at their nest sites. A nest that was empty a few days ago featured two juveniles back in so I suspect they return to the nest on occasion to try to get fed again...smart.

American Redstart, Williamsburg, MA, Jul 7, 2023

Louisiana Waterthrush, Williamsburg, MA, Jul 7, 2023

Song Sparrow, Williamsburg, MA, Jul 7, 2023

Song Sparrow fledgling (trying to look like a Lincoln's Sparrow), Williamsburg, MA, Jul 7, 2023

After work this morning I headed up to Williamsburg and then onto Great Pond in Hatfield before heading home. It was a bit foggy to start but eventually the fog burned off and the temps quickly heated up. I added a few new species for the month including at least one Least Bittern and a few Marsh Wrens at Great Pond. The new species for the day brought my total for the first week of the month in Hampshire County up to a respectable 123 species...not recording setting but above normal for the first week in July here.

Great Horned Owl, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jun 20, 2023

Bobcat, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jul 2, 2023

Eastern Coyote, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jun 10, 2023

White tailed Deer, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jun 1, 2023

I also checked the game camera again along the Jabish Brook at the house and I captured some good stuff including half a dozen species of mammals and my first ever owl (a Great Horned Owl to be exact).

Wilson getting a laser treatment at his four week post surgery appointment, Jul 5, 2023

Wilson with some cool goggles, Jul 5, 2023

Now for an update on the Wilson following his surgery four weeks ago. We had a follow up appointment a couple days ago and all looks good. He has lost a bit of muscle mass in his leg and we will be working on exercises and progressively longer walks to build it back up. During the appointment he had a laser treatment and had to wear some goggles and he surprisingly had no issues with them and looked so damn cool with them on!

Wednesday, July 20, 2022

A detailed look at Virginia Rails and Great Blue Herons breeding at Lake Wallace

Virginia Rail, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jun 21, 2022

Virginia Rail young, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jun 22, 2022

Virginia Rail juvenile, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jun 29, 2022

Virginia Rail juveniles, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jun 29, 2022

Virginia Rail juveniles, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 8, 2022

Virginia Rail, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 8, 2022

Virginia Rail juveniles, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 8, 2022

Virginia Rail, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 11, 2022

Virginia Rail, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 13, 2022

Virginia Rail, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 14, 2022

Virginia Rail, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 16, 2022

Virginia Rails, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 16, 2022

Virginia Rail, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 17, 2022

I'll take a look in greater detail at a couple of breeding species at Lake Wallace for the season with the first species being Virginia Rail. I heard multiple individuals throughout the spring with the species very consistently heard from early April onward with several visits producing more than one individual calling. I first noticed young birds in late June when the young are totally black and look nothing like an adult. On July 8th I watched a couple of juvenile birds that would occasionally pop out into view. At one point I heard a rail call from deeper in the marsh and both juveniles quickly flew up to the higher part of the reeds...perhaps the adult was warning them of some unseen danger? Who knows? By this point the juveniles were getting close to adult size and have started to transition to a more adult like plumage. With each passing the day the juveniles continued to take on more and more of the plumage of an adult. I had a high count on July 13th with at least three nearly adult size juveniles (including one that stayed in the open for several minutes) plus two adults. I topped that count on the July 16th when I had at least half a dozen individuals. It was a treat to get prolonged views of this species over the course of weeks as I watched the young grow.

I got a variety of videos of the rails over the course of the season and have attached them below on the date taken.

Great Blue Heron nest building, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 17, 2022

Great Blue Heron on nest, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, May 10, 2022

Great Blue Heron nest with young, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jun 10, 2022

Great Blue Herons at nest, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jun 13, 2022

Great Blue Herons at nest, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jun 24, 2022

Great Blue Herons at nest, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jun 26, 2022

Great Blue Herons at nest, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jun 28, 2022

Great Blue Herons at nest, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jun 29, 2022

Great Blue Herons at nest, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 3, 2022

Great Blue Herons at nest, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 6, 2022

Great Blue Herons at nest, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 8, 2022

Great Blue Herons at nest, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 9, 2022

Great Blue Herons at nest, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 10, 2022

Great Blue Herons at nest, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 11, 2022

Great Blue Herons at nest, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 12, 2022

Great Blue Herons at nest, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 13, 2022

Great Blue Herons at nest, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 14, 2022

Great Blue Herons at nest (with large fish, possibly catfish, brought in by adult), Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 14, 2022

Great Blue Herons at nest, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 15, 2022

Great Blue Heron at nest, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 16, 2022

Great Blue Herons at nest, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 16, 2022

Great Blue Herons at nest, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 17, 2022

Great Blue Heron nest finally empty, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 20, 2022

Great Blue Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 20, 2022

The Great Blue Herons again nested at Lake Wallace after an absence of a few years. I first noticed nest building in mid April with at least two nest being attempted (only one was completed). The herons sat on eggs for the next few weeks before I finally saw some young in the nest. I was able to count three young birds in the nest eventually (a typical number for a Great Blue Heron nest).

I noticed that one of the nestlings came up missing in late June and I'm not sure what happened to it. It may have been big enough to leave the nest a little early or it met its demise from a variety of possibilities. By the start of July the remaining two nestlings were getting to be near adult size and I suspected they would leave the nest in the near future but it still took weeks before they left.

I suspected they would be very close to fledging on July 8th as they were nearly the same size as an adult and when an adult arrived at the nest it did not feed the nestlings but instead stood in the nest with them for a bit before flying off again.

On my way to work on the 11th I stopped early in the morning and found the two nestlings still present. An adult eventually flew in with a stick in its mouth which it dropped on the nest and one of the nestlings picked up as if to eat it (not sure what that behavior was about). The begging from the young eventually resulted in the adult feeding them.

I once again expected the herons to have fledged when I stopped on my way home from work on the 12th but the two remaining nestlings were still at the nest site.

The 13th found the two remaining herons still in the nest but with more and more wing exercises and moving away from the nest itself (I was glad to see they made it through the thunderstorms that occurred the evening before).

Over the next couple days the adults continued the two juveniles in the nest including one adult that brought in a massive fish (which looked like a catfish) that one the juveniles swallowed in a single gulp. An early morning visit on the 16th found only one juvenile in the nest with the other in a nearby tree but a visit a little later in the morning found both juveniles back in the nest again. The two remained in the nest when I stopped on the morning of the 17th.

I was not able to make it back again until the morning of the 19th as we began a several day heat wave and I was happy to see the nest was finally empty and the juveniles had fledged.

Like the Virginia Rails I took multiple videos of the Great Blue Heron nest and have attached the links to various videos below.

Wood Ducks, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jun 14, 2022

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jun 29, 2022

Mallard with ducklings, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 11, 2022

Belted Kingfishers, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 11, 2022

Sora, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 13, 2022

Red winged Blackbird juvenile, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 14, 2022

In addition to the above mentioned I had a variety of marsh birds and waterfowl that bred at the lake this year or where suspected of breeding there. Confirmed waterfowl included Canada Geese, Wood Ducks, Mallards and Hooded Mergansers. I suspect Sora may have bred but I was unable to confirm. I was lucky enough to finally get a look at the Sora on July 13th after a lot of waiting and even got some photos and videos. Sadly the water levels were artificially lowered starting last year with the installation of a beaver deceiver at the outlet of the lake which dropped the water level by over a foot. I suspect this made the lake less attractive to some marsh birds that have bred here in the past including Pied billed Grebes back in 2020. Green Herons, Belted Kingfishers, Swamp Sparrows, Red winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles were among the many other species breeding at the lake this year.

Videos of the Sora:

Sora #1

Sora #2

Muskrat, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jun 10, 2022

Raccoon, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 13, 2022

Painted Turtle, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 14, 2022

Bullfrog eating another bullfrog, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 14, 2022

My time spent watching the various nesting birds also turned up some great looks at mammals with the highlights being River Otters (videos #1, #2 and #3), Beavers, Muskrats and Raccoons (video #1 and #2). There were also tons of frogs and turtles around with an unusual sight of a large bullfrog eating another bullfrog. I got several videos of the bullfrog eating another bullfrog (videos #1, #2, #3).

Quabbin birding and beyond

Friday, July 7, 2023

A humid, hot and wet start for the first week of July with lots of young birds around

Wednesday, July 20, 2022

A detailed look at Virginia Rails and Great Blue Herons breeding at Lake Wallace

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