The heronry is open for business!

On January first Matty and I decided to explore the woods beside our house and see what was there. The woods lead into a protected green space we had never hiked, so we were excited to check out a new area. While walking the banks of a winding creek in a gorge, we stumbled across a small heronry. Was it active? We didn't know. We'd have to wait until late January or early February when male herons returned to their heronries to stake their claim. Rick and I hiked there several times through January to see if anything was happening, but the nests remained empty, until finally, at the beginning of February we started noticing herons flying low over our house! They had to be headed to the heronry! Last summer when we moved in, Big Blue would fly over our house every morning and evening. We assumed he was flying to Lake Isabella or the Little Miami River. Little did we know a secret heronry was his real destination! On Sunday Rick and I set out to see if the heronry was active...it was! We counted 19 herons. We avoided the creek because we didn't want to be under the heronry disturbing the birds (it's much further downstream and very hard to reach, not to mention dangerous!). Instead, we climbed up to a ridge that overlooks a small valley and the creek. The heronry is on the other side. We were really far away, but with a zoom lens and binocs, we could see the activity...

A male heron makes an early stake at a local heronry, his nuptial plumage visible in the fading light of evening.

We were there around 5:00 and the sun was sinking fast so silhouettes were all we could see, but that didn't matter.  It was so exciting knowing Great Blue Herons would be flying regularly over our house all spring and summer. 

A Great Blue Heron circles his nest preparing to land. Even the fading light
can't hide the lovely nuptial feathers silhouetted against the evening sky.

...settling in for the night.

Nuptial plumage...

Nuptial plumage or breeding plumage are the beautiful feathers birds sport on their head and neck during the mating season. Not all birds have nuptial plumage, but herons and egrets are famous for it. Click here for a link to a Little Blue Heron showing beautiful breeding plumage. (I photographed him on Pinckney Island in Hilton Head back in 2011).

At our previous house, we lived three miles from a huge Great Blue Heron heronry. Over the years I posted a lot about that heronry (starting in 2009). Click here for photos of that heronry in full swing! 

A mama Great Horned Owl feeding her baby...

This afternoon Rick and I headed over to Lake Isabella to check in on the nesting owls. I was hoping to get a glimpse of the baby who has already started popping its head out of the nest. When we arrived, the park attendant told us another egg had hatched and there were now two owlets being tended to by the parents! We walked over to the viewing area to see if the baby was awake. Soon the mama picked something up in the nest and turned toward us. It looked like dinner was about to be served...

A female Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) owl lifted a half-eaten bird out of the nest for her owlet...

...within seconds the baby popped up, ready for dinner! Look at that little one's mouth open up wide.

Only one of the two owlets popped up for dinner. If the other was eating, it was not visible from our angle.

...maybe the mama was feeding the other owlet here.

...sated, the baby soon closed its eyes and slipped back down in the nest to sleep.

...but before nodding off, the owlet stretched its little wings, giving us a glimpse of the feathers just beginning to emerge from the cylindrical feather sheaths.

Owls do not build their own nests. Instead, they take over nests built by hawks, herons, crows, or even squirrels. They also will nest in hollowed-out tree cavities that are large enough, and will even take advantage of man-made platforms and other types of nests, such as this old metal tub. This tub has been at Lake Isabella for a long time and has hosted many owl families over the years!

(It was nice having Rick along with me. If he's not careful, he might lose his old blog name of Rick the Reluctant Birder!)

It won't be long before our little owlet is hopping out of the nest!

Yesterday evening I squeezed in a trip to Lake Isabella in anticipation of today's rains. When I arrived the baby was still asleep, but soon popped up ready for action. Jack, a fellow bird watcher, was there and felt we had about a week before the baby starts climbing out of the nest and hopping from limb to limb in the tree.

The late evening sun was warm and glowing, lighting 

up the baby and making her eyes nice and bright.

"Who, who's back there? I'll just turn my head all the way 

around. No need to reposition my body...I am an owl afterall."

The baby moved to the other side of the tub and more 

into the sun. She's starting to look for mama and 

her dinner (or maybe breakfast)!

The baby starts panting to dissipate the heat 

building up in her body as she soaks up the sun.

"Mama...where are you? I'm ready for dinner!"

Owl babies...

We really enjoyed ourselves at Clifty Falls and Muscatatuck, and I have tons of photos, but before we get to that, I have to talk about owls! We pulled into the driveway around 7:10 p.m. this evening. After unloading our stuff, I checked my email and found a message that they were going to band baby owls at Lake Isabella at 7:00 p.m., so I put my camera and binocs back in the car and hurried on over. I got there just as they were finishing, but that's okay because I got to meet a lot of Cincinnati birders, including fellow blogger Susan, from Susan Gets Native (check out her site for more photos of the baby). Susan was really nice (and funny too) and told me they had added an abandoned baby owl to the nest! So mama owl now has two mouths to feed! They have done this in the past, and it works. The mama usually doesn't question the addition. She sees two open mouths and puts food into them. We hung around until dark to watch the mama return, hoping she'd bring something yummy for the babies to eat, but she was sitting off in the distance and didn't venture back. The babies were doing great and were showing no signs of stress. No doubt as soon as darkness fell she swooped in with a snack.

The new baby owl is on the left. What a cute face!! 

Talk about wide-eyed!

When I first got there only the original baby was peeping 

out of the nest. You can see how different his face is...smaller 

and darker. He's so cute and just a little bit younger.

Tomorrow I'll start posting the Clifty Falls photos...think Turkey Vultures!

(Thanks, again, Bill for covering for me!)

Mama owl, baby owls, and raindrops...

Today was Matty’s first day of spring break, and I was only at the office through the morning, so after lunch, Matty and I headed over to Lake Isabella to see the baby owls. We didn’t know if the weather would cooperate, but the rain held off just long enough to get a couple of shots. When we first arrived, mama looked very protective brooding over her young.


Then suddenly, she moved a bit, and a light grey fluffy head popped up! What a fluffball…

Let's crop it down even more for a closer look!

Even the baby owl looks like it means business!

After about 10 minutes the raindrops started to fall, so we slipped under the cover of the gazebo hoping for a passing shower, but no such luck. We were planning on stopping off at the gravel pit next, but the rain just continued to pick up, so we headed home. There is always tomorrow!

Beak Bit
I’ve been reading Wild Bird Guides, Great Horned Owl, by Dwight G. Smith off and on for the past couple of weeks and recently read that the mama does all the brooding of the baby owls. When the babies hatch, they are blind and weak and are not able to stand. Their eyes do not fully open until the ninth or tenth day. They rely entirely on the mama for survival. The papa is in charge of bringing food to the nest, where mama tears the food into small pieces and gently places one piece at a time into the babies’ mouths.

Nesting Great Horned Owl and Sweet Northern Shovelers

Today at lunch, I headed over to Lake Isabella to see if I could see the female Great Horned Owl sitting on her nest, and I did…here she is!

Not much to see, just her little ear tufts.

At first, I could barely see the feathers sticking up, but when a couple of Canada Geese started making a racket, she popped her head up a bit so I could see both of the little ear tufts. When those little feathers came into view my heart melted!! I stayed far away from the nest to make sure she wasn’t disturbed. I learned about the owl’s nest on Susan Gets Native. Head over to Susan's site to see another photo and read about important nest site etiquette.

Here is one of the little rabble-rousers that woke up Mama Owl. 

Thanks, Mrs. Goose!

I was talking to one of the men who work there, and he told me about Baltimore Orioles that nest near the water. They grab little bits of discarded fishing line and use them to make their nests. He was going to show me an old nest, but Hurricane 08 and the latest ice storm really did a number on the trees and limbs in the park, and the limb holding the nest had fallen. I’ll have to keep watch this spring and summer to see if I can find an oriole’s nest!

A lot of wind damage is apparent throughout the park.

I just sat and watched the nest for a while and listened to all the birds calling and singing back and forth…most demanding were cardinals, titmice, chickadees and nuthatches, with a downy every now and then. There is nothing like slowing down and listening to birds singing their hearts out! I still had plenty of time, so I hopped in the car and headed down one exit on 275 to check out the gravel pits, parking in the Indian Hill Winter Club’s parking lot. Unfortunately, you're not allowed to walk down to the shore, so you can't get that close. I saw Canvasbacks, Buffleheads, a juvenile Mute Swan, and Northern Shovelers.

The Canvasbacks and Buffleheads were way out on the lake, and although I had great viewing through my binoculars, my camera lens wasn’t quite as cooperative. The shovelers were close to the shore, so I was able to get a fairly nice shot of them from up on the hill.

I love their super-sized bills, but even cuter, 

are their little orange feet visible under 

the water as they paddle around.

Just watching these guys swim made 

me happy. Their feet work like crazy.

Beak Bit

I really like watching Northern Shovelers, and they make it easy to watch them! Because of an adaptation to their bills, they mainly stay in the shallows. Using their bills like a shovel, they scoop up mud and debris and like a colander, strain small invertebrates and other food through the serrated edges of their bill. Since they have developed this special way to eat, they stay in the shallows more often for easier access to the muddy floor. Northern Shovelers are also devoted mated pairs, staying together longer than any other duck...the sweet-hearts!