"Honey, I found the perfect stick for the nest!"

Today at noon I dropped by the rookery to see what the heron colony was doing. It was sunny and the sky was very blue...and once again, it was warm! Today was the first day I'd been to the heronry at noon, and boy was it hopping! At one point a male flew in carrying a stick and offered it to the female. She didn't object to it, and he placed it on the nest.

I love watching the big birds fly with 

sticks often as tall as they are!

He was very careful as he landed.

The female is checking it out. She seems to approve. 

I love the feather on top of her head. It looks like a big 

exclamation point, "Oh honey, it's lovely. Thank you!"

I like the mirror image of their bills and heads. 

Mr. Heron places the stick on the nest.

Mrs. Heron seems to approve!

When I'm at the heronry, I'm very far away. That's why the photos are so fuzzy...everything is cropped down. Herons are very sensitive to noise and human activity and will abandon rookeries if the mood doesn't suit them any more. It's also dangerous to go near a rookery. Herons will dive bomb predators with their bills, and a good skull piercing from an overprotective papa would not be fun! I also read they will throw up on predators to discourage them from coming any closer. Since their diet is mostly fish, that could get pretty gross!