Posts Tagged: heron rookery

We Have Loon Chicks, Heron Chicks Getting Big

On June 14, 2026 - Herons, Loons, Wildlife Photography

Another busy week visiting all three loon families and the heron rookery. The Westons’ chicks have hatched, the Eastons are sitting on their nest, the Middletons continue to look for a new spot. And the heron chicks are getting big. Very big.

The Berkshires Art Festival is coming up in Great Barrington, MA on July 3, 4 and 5. I’ll have note cards and prints large and small for sale. I’ll be in booth 212 in the Upper Lodge. Please come by and have a look. My 2027 Wildlife Calendar went to the printer. If all goes well, I’ll have them at the show.

The Westons laid their eggs sometime during a week I couldn’t visit. I’d expected the eggs to hatch last weekend. Monday morning I headed out early and found the pond in thick fog. I paddled up the pond and back down before running into Mr. Weston on his own. Mrs. Weston was still on the nest. And squirming regularly. (Dad is banded in this pair. When I can see a leg, I can tell who is who.)

I parked the boat and waited. After a bit, Mrs. Weston stood up to see what was going on downstairs. The chick has broken the end of the egg off and his? head is exposed. Mrs. W seemed satisfied with the chick’s progress and sat back down.

Every spring, I get questions about my camera gear. I’m using a Canon EOS R5 with an 800mm f5.6 lens. 800mm lets me sit well back from the loons – and most of the images in my posts are cropped.

About two and a half hours later, Mom stood up again to see what was happening. I could see the chick’s head, but he was behind the brush. Mom collected the empty eggshell and tossed it overboard. It fell just in front of the nest and she hooted at it a few times, but it refused to go away.

About four hours after the first picture, Mom took the chick into the water and found him several small meals. Mom climbed back up onto the nest and the chick followed. Mr. W was still on on the main part of the pond, enjoying his last morning of peace for the season.

Mom turned the remaining egg as the chick looked on.

Mom herded the chick back into the nest.

And went back to sitting. I hadn’t expected to be on the pond very long that morning. I left a couple hours after my butt went completely numb from the kayak seat and with a nice sunburn.

I went back Tuesday morning to see if I could meet the second chick. The fog was thicker than the day before.

It was foggy enough that I couldn’t see the chicks without getting too close. I tried to make the best of the time waiting for the fog to lift and amused my self shooting foggy morning shots.

By about 0600, the fog had lifted a bit and I went to check on the nest. Mom was sitting, Dad was feeding the chick by the nest.

The little guy caught on fast. Dad found several small fish and a crayfish for the chick before returning him to the nest.

The Westons have always pretty much ignored me until about time for the chicks to hatch. Then, everyone has to go. They’ll wail at people, beavers, any large bird flying over and even lots of small birds in the brush along the pond.

After tucking the chick back into the nest, Dad grabbed the eggshell Mom tossed overboard the day before and took out the trash.

After Dad fed the chick, he started back to the pond. As he passed, he stopped and displayed his wings at me. I took the hint and gave up my spot. I left the cove with the nest. Dad circled the cove a couple times wailing at the red-winged black birds, grackles and kingbirds.

As I was heading in, I passed an eastern kingbird sitting along the water. When the kingbird lowered his head, I could see the ‘crown’ – a patch of red feathers. They use the crown to attract mates and as a warning to predators.

As I left the pond, I had to encourage a snapping turtle to get out of the road. Female turtles are out of their ponds looking for nesting sites.

Wednesday morning I headed to visit the Middletons. On my last visit, I discovered they’d abandoned their first nest and were looking for a site to try again.

After a bit of searching, I found the Middletons testing out a possible nesting site. Mr. M was tossing vegetation up on the bank as Mrs. M looked on.

After a bit, he gave up and went to find a snack. Mrs. M tossed some vegetation herself before deciding a snack sounded good.

After finishing the snack, the pair checked another possible site. And found Hank the great blue heron at the breakfast buffet.

That site wasn’t what they wanted. They continued looking around the cove. Mrs. M tried to promote this stump as a good place to build. Mr. M wasn’t buying it. They kept looking, I stayed with Hank.

Hank stood pondside, waiting for breakfast to appear.

Oh! What’s this? Could this be breakfast over here? Hank crept into the water and dove at something behind the weeds.

He caught a sunfish when he dove. The caught it broadside to his mouth. Herons swallow fish head first. Hank was smart enough to walk back up on the beaver lodge away from the water before flipping the fish into position.

Hank went back to find more food. He dredged up what looks like a root of some kind. He waived this around a few times before tossing it back. He broke off a smaller piece and waived that around before tossing that back. Herons don’t eat plants, I’m not sure what he was doing.

I went to check to see what the Middletons were up to.

They’d gone back to the first possible nesting site I’d found them on. This time, they were both dredging up vegetation and tossing it.

They gave up after a time and headed out into the main part of the pond. Mr. M gave a nice stretch. I went back to check on Hank.

Hank had moved down the shore to a sunny spot. His camouflage seems to work pretty well. He’s in the brush about a third of the way in from the left side of the photo.

There he is. Watching herons fish can often be very boring. This was one of those mornings. I didn’t see Hank catch anything else before I had to go.

Yesterday morning I called on the Eastons. On my last visit there appeared to be a pair of loons defending a nesting spot with a banded loon challenging one of them for the territory. The Mr. Easton we’ve been following since 2019 wasn’t to be found. Mrs. Easton isn’t banded, she may be back.

Saturday morning found a pair of loons with a nest. The banded loon I’d seen the last time has taken over the territory. There was at least one challenger on the pond. After a brief skirmish, the challenger departed.

Hank, or his cousin, was looking over the pond.

I followed the banded loon for a time, trying to get a good look at both his legs. He was happy to wave his left leg. I only needed to see it once to see the tags. He must have waved the left leg 10 times before breaking down and showing me the bands on his right leg. I reported the band info, we may get to learn about the bird’s history.

There was a good breeze and the water was fairly choppy. The banded bird stretched while I was waiting to see the right leg.

The intruder returned and drew both of the home team to the far end of the pond. I snuck a look at the nest with my binoculars and they’ve got two eggs.

The intruder promptly left the pond.

One of the home team returned to sit on the nest. I headed home.

I expect to dodge wildlife on the road in the early hours. This past week, I’ve seen bears, foxes, a racoon and an opossum along with deer, more deer and even more deer. To change things up this morning, I met a horse trotting west as I was going east.

The chicks have grown remarkably since my last visit. These three chicks seem to be the biggest – and probably oldest – in the rookery. They live in what I’ve taken to calling Nest One. It is the furthest on the left and I need some way to keep them straight. They were up and acting up most of the morning. They’re very vocal and called most of the morning.

Nest One is getting small for them. Getting photos where we can see all three faces was a challenge all morning. Most of the time there’s usually at least one butt pointed in my direction.

Personal space is not really a thing in a heron nest.

The chicks in Nest Two – the second from the left – were tucked in for a nap.

In Nest Three – stay with me here, the third from the left – found these two were sitting up waiting for breakfast. There’s a third with his? head just barely visible.

Nest Four found two chicks preening and one doing whatever it is the guy on the right is doing.

One of the parents returns to Nest Two with breakfast. Both heron parents tend the chicks and we can’t tell them apart by looking.

When the chicks are young, the parents feed them by regurgitating food into their mouths. As the chicks get bigger, the parents bring food back and regurgitate it into the nest and let the chicks grab it. Looks like this chick isn’t ready to give up being fed.

And neither are the siblings. They’re all grabbing the parents bill. It looks like this is counter productive. The parent can’t bend over to regurgitate the food while the chicks are holding his bill.

After several false starts, the parent was able to bend over and is regurgitating what looks to be a perch into the nest. That’s a crazy crop, I was probably 130 feet from the nest.

The chick in the middle was able to grab the fish.

And the chick that nabbed the fish sure seemed to do an in-your-face-dance for the siblings.

A parent arrived back in Nest One. The chicks here also tried to grab the parent’s bill. This shot looks like the parent is putting food directly into the chick’s mouth. The parent had food for all three chicks. After dropping the rest of the food, the parent hopped to a branch about 10 feet from the nest.

The chicks started throwing a tantrum, trying to convince the parent they were starving. The parent ignored them. The chicks acted up for several minutes.

Mom! Mom! Mom! Look! Mom! Look at us! We’re starving! Mom! Mom! Mom!

The other parent has arrived back at Nest Two. Only to have the chicks all go for his bill.

The parent drops what looks like another perch into the nest where a chick immediately grabs it and swallows it.

After the parent left Nest Two, the chicks posed nicely. The chicks in Nest One were still putting on a show….

Last week, it looked like a wren had taken over the bluebird box where they raised a family earlier this year. In the last couple days, the bluebirds have reappeared. Ownership of the box appears undecided. I’m kinda rooting for the bluebirds. The wren’s song was cute the first couple days, but she over does it.

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great blue heron, heron rookery, herons, loon chicks, loons

A Visit to the Westons and Heron Chicks

On May 31, 2026 - Beavers, Herons, Loons, Photography, Turtles, Wildlife Photography

A slower week this past week. I had a chance to visit the Weston loon family on a foggy morning and visited the great blue heron rookery.

I’ll be at the Berkshires Arts Festival at Ski Butternut in Great Barrington, MA on July 3, 4, 5. I’ll be in booth 212 lots of prints and note cards. Stop by and have a look.

Tuesday morning found blue skies over the hill in West Newbury and the Weston’s pond in deep fog.

The Westons weren’t to be found on the main part of the pond. I continued on to the cove where they nest. The off duty loon was promoting a shift change. You can see the loon on the nest at the far right hidden in the brush. I never did see their legs; without seeing the bands – or lack of them – I couldn’t tell who was who.

They did the nest exchange after a few minutes and the loon coming off duty stretched.

And then set out to find some breakfast. Looks like he? came up empty this time.

An outsider loon flew over and called which set the Westons to tremoloing. The outsider flew on and the pond quieted. Very quiet. I paddled around looking for photos. Seems most of the critters had taken the morning off.

After a time, I found a red-winged blackbird out and about.

He alternated foraging with calling out to announce his presence.

As the fog lifted, painted turtles started climbing out of the water to bask.

The outsider loon returned and landed well up the pond. All three loons started calling. The loon on the nest left the nest to join the other home team loon on the main part of the pond. They were well separated from the intruder. I snuck back into the cove with their nest to see if I could see how many eggs they have. I took a quick look to find two and turned around to leave the cove.

Only to find Slappy Gilmore the beaver entering the cove. He? circled the entrance to the cove, slapping regularly. If he’d gotten out of the way, I’d have left……

Here’s his tail making contact for the slap.

And each slap pushes his butt up out of the water. You can see his webbed feet clearly here.

The loons mostly called at each other before a brief skirmish with some wing rowing before the intruder departed.

Thursday morning, I was up early and headed to see the great blue heron rookery. I’ve been inundated with requests for the location of the rookery. I think I’ve answered everyone. I’m reluctant to share locations with folks I don’t know. Most are likely to be responsible, but the internet has more than a few bad apples.

On three of the four nests with herons, an adult was standing on the edge of the nest. The fourth had a heron still sitting.

After watching for a time, chicks started stirring. The three nests with adults standing guard all have at least three chicks. The chicks are still small enough that they can’t be seen when crouched down in the nest. They appear, then disappear fairly quickly, keeping me on my toes.

The chicks are funny-looking gawky birds whose body parts all seem to come from birds of different sizes. I suspect they were designed by Jim Henson.

Here’s a shift change on the first nest. Both herons will birdsit the chicks and bring food. When one returns to the nest, they go through a ceremony where they stretch and bob their necks to each other.

The returning parent brought back a sunfish which would seem to be much too large. The chick in back put it away without effort.

Back at the second nest, the chicks were getting restless…

This guy seems to be thinking that if breakfast isn’t delivered promptly, he’ll have to go get it on his own.

Poking their parent, and pulling feathers, didn’t speed things up.

The mate returned. The parents swallow the chick’s food and regurgitate it for the chicks when they return. As the chicks get bigger, the parents will bring in larger food that they haven’t swallowed.

The parent that had been on duty wasted no time heading off.

The chicks have been fed, time for everyone to settle back in.

And a returning parent feeding the chicks in the third nest.

The fourth and fifth nests had parents return, but I didn’t see any chicks. Guess I’ll have to go back.

And we’ve hosted bluebirds in one of the boxes on our deck again this year. I haven’t been posting, it seems like many people have cameras in their bird houses now. And, something is amiss with mine, the video quality has degraded. But, here’s a clip of the chick’s final few minutes as our guests before they fledge.

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birds, great blue herons, heron rookery, herons, loons, new hampshire wildlife, vermont wildlife

Rounding Up the Usual Suspects

On April 30, 2026 - Beavers, Herons, Loons, Warblers, Wildlife Photography

The run of nice mornings let me get out several times since my last post. I’ve called on the Middletons and the Westons, visited the falcons and the heron rookery as well as paddled in the Connecticut. This is a roundup of what I saw.

I’m still looking for fox, coyote and bobcat dens. And other mammals bigger than a squirrel. If you’ve got them hanging around where I won’t be in the way photographing them, I’d love to know.

I’ll be giving my slideshow An Uncommon Look at the Common Loon at the Rockingham, Vermont, Library this Saturday May 2, at 11 am. Free and everyone welcome. And I have prints of some of my favorite loon photos hanging in the Library now. Stop in and have a look. Later in the month, I’ll be doing my slideshow of my favorite shots from 2025 at the Bugbee Center in White River Jct. at 1:30 pm on Wednesday May 27 and again at the Blake Memorial Library in Corinth, VT at 6:00 pm on Friday May 27. On to the critters…

I’ve managed to visit the herons twice. The first visit found some herons sitting on their eggs and the others putting the finishing touches on their nests.

They take great care in how they place the sticks. I suppose if you know you’re going to be sitting on them for a few weeks, you want to make sure all the pointy bits are well tucked away.

Finishing up the details on the nest. There’s a heron sitting on the nest to the upper left.

The mate showed up as the first bird was finishing up. You can’t tell him from her by looking, and both birds are involved in building the nest and incubating the eggs.

The member of the pair that flew in as the work was finishing up stretched in a courtship display.

Another heron sat just outside the rookery and provided commentary.

One of the males with a nest in the rookery arrived with the very stick they needed for the nest. The males gather the sticks and deliver them to the nest. The females will nod if they find the stick worthy of being added to the nest.

The female of the pair wasn’t around, so the male stashed the stick near the nest.

He took a few minutes to preen, which seems a challenge standing on a small branch.

The next trip had me visiting the Middletons. There were two loons on the pond. Somewhat embarrassingly, I caught up with them before they finished their ablutions. Mr. Middleton waved his leg, letting me see his bands telling me he was who he claimed to be.

Mr. Middleton greeted me with open wings.

And this appears to be the new Mrs. Middleton. The previous Mrs. Middleton died shortly after being driven from the pond by a female challenging her for the territory. Neither the challenger nor this bird were banded, so we can’t tell for sure, but it is likely this is the challenger from last year.

I typed too soon in the last post when I said there didn’t seem to be many Canada geese around. They’re back in force.

The Middletons finished breakfast and tucked in for a nap. You can see Mr. M’s bands on his leg.

The next couple outings took me to the Weston’s pond. The Westons are often not in the mood for visitors and keep their distance. I try to respect their moods and keep my distance when they want to be left alone. There was a pair of loons on the pond. Mrs. Weston disappeared in early August last year and wasn’t seen again. We probably have Mr. Weston back with a new mate.

There was a flock of about 35 swallows – mostly tree swallows with a couple barn swallows for color. They were using this tree for a perch. They’d – more or less – settle for a bit before something got them going and they’d depart en masse. They’d fly out a ways before promptly returning to the tree. I couldn’t spot what got them going but suspect that one had spotted a tasty looking insect and went to nab it – with everyone following along.

Flocks of birds never completely settle. Someone is always looking for a better spot.

And there were at least a couple of couples intent on making little swallows in the mix.

Mr. Mallard had some place elsewhere he needed to be.

Warblers are back. Here’s the first yellow-rumped warbler (aka butter butt) of the season.

And what appears to be a disapproving palm warbler.

The next trip out was to visit the Middleton’s pond again.

One of the Middletons was up and ready to get going at dawn. They were covering lots of ground while foraging for breakfast. I wandered off to see who else might be out and about.

One of the resident beavers was as busy as himself and was making a quick improvement to the roof of his lodge. He dragged this stick to the lodge and pulled it out of the water.

Carefully adjusting it for the proper pitch and angle.

With his chores done, he stopped for some breakfast. Beavers eat the bark off of branches and trees. That’s why I’ve named this guy – wait for it – Chewbarka.

One of the Middletons gave a good stretch as I was heading out.

The next morning found me checking in on the falcons.

They’re sitting on their eggs, so there wasn’t much going on to photograph. The on nest duty bird did peer out above the lip of the shelf with the nest.

The mate sat in a tree above the nest, mostly preening and snoozing.

There is a brave pair of eastern phoebes nesting on the cliff about 20 feet below the falcon’s nest. I’m surprised at the number of song birds in the area. Steering clear of where falcons frequent would seem to be a good idea. The smaller birds in the area must know the falcons are there. The small birds seem to keep low and close to the cliff – making it impossible for the falcon to stop before hitting the ground if it went after them. I thought of J.R.R. Tolkien’s advice, “It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near one.”

And the next morning found me back at the rookery.

All the nests had birds sitting on their eggs. Again not an exciting morning watching birds just sitting. This heron did pop up several times to adjust the sticks in the nest.

Sticks back in their proper place, the bird settled back in.

Someone’s mate came back from his favorite watering hole and stood guard at the edge of the nursery.

The Waits and Connecticut Rivers have been too high for me to be comfortable paddling. Earlier this week, it had dropped enough for me to venture out. When I got out Wednesday morning, the water had dropped to the point where navigating anywhere but the deepest part of the Waits was difficult.

There were several killdeer out foraging along the mud at the water’s edge. There were lots of grackles and red-winged blackbirds and a few ducks around. A murder of crows mobbed a red-tailed hawk every time he dared fly over. With the low water, I saw several large snapping turtles foraging.

A pair of northern flickers were cleaning up a nesting hole. Tree swallows looked like they were going to move in downstairs in the same tree.

The flickers took a break to make little flickers and share a moment afterwards.

There was a bit of a close call when rounding a curve in the river, I surprised a croc basking on the riverbank.

The killdeer were creating a ruckus calling and flying around. After a time, I found four of them in a kerfuffle. I couldn’t figure out the cast. There was at least one female that presented repeatedly. There were at least two that would charge her when she did. Often one or both would take a short flight, often with an attack while in air. Sometimes it appeared the kerfuffle was two on two and sometimes three on one.

Three of the killdeer disagreeing on something.

Someone has just charged the flying bird causing it to take flight. The bird in the back right seems to be presenting.

The midair skirmishes seemed to be mostly threatening, without any actual contact.

The kerfuffle came to some conclusion I couldn’t figure out. The lady that had been presenting throughout took time for a bath and all the birds wandered off.

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heron rookery, herons, loons