A blue heron nests on the Little Snake
The other day, we went down to check to pregnant cows and new calves in the Big Pasture, which lies along the confluence of Battle Creek and the Little Snake River. In the trees, we noticed a big bird’s nest, then two, then three, then four. As we looked more closely, we saw that these nests were occupied by blue herons. When we went over to take a closer look, Maeve went down in the mud. She manages to combine being a princess who actually wears a tiara much of the time with being the grubbiest of the five grandchildren. Once we rinsed her off in the river, we looked up and saw the herons watching us. We have done a lot of work on Battle Creek, largely in order to enhance fish habitat, especially for Colorado Cutthroat Trout. This gives us mixed feelings. The rookery is a wonderful demonstration of the health of the riparian area. It also indicates that these herons are eating a heck of a lot of trout. When asked what keeps him awake at night, Pat told the story about the herons eating the endangered trout. In any view,t the herons are lovely, and we look forward to seeing the chicks.
Flying the coop
cows and calves near herons and chicks
Princess Maeve with mud
Ladder Ranch
Denise O'Toole
April 30, 2012 at 12:51 PM
here’s a link to a nest-cam on the campus of cornell university in new york; their chicks have just hatched in the last few days….
http://www.livestream.com/cornellherons