Tag Archives: heron

Don’t Stand Under the Heron Rookery

The south side of the locks at Ballard has an area of trees along the water which is a heron rookery.  I have been there once when the herons were roosting.  That is not an appealing experience.  The herons are directly above the path and a lot of adult and juvenile birds in their nests results in an almost constant stream of “material” falling onto the bushes and path below.  It is perilous, the odor is intense and the ground underfoot is not as grippy as you might like.

In winter, the herons aren’t roosting, but the area is surprisingly unpleasant even then.  Some cormorants were up in the trees using it as a good spot for picking out their next fishing trip.  They did also imperil those below a little but not to the extent that the herons do.  The cold weather was doing a good job of suppressing the smell and also the slippery nature of the paths.  I took some images of a bench and the bushes which show just how much falls from above.  Heron chicks might be interesting to see but visit this location only when you know what you are letting yourself in for!

Odd Place To Find A Heron

A little while back, I posted about some local herons.  One of my friends (who shall remain unnamed) made a comment expressing disappointment that it wasn’t the de Havilland version of a heron.  Imagine my surprise when, only a few weeks later, Mark and I were driving through Oregon en route to Klamath Falls when we passed through a small town called Chiloquin and, right by the highway, was a de Havilland Heron.  This was a Royal Navy example that had found its way to the grounds outside a motel.

It wasn’t in the best of shape.  One wing was completely gone and it was sitting on the ground rather than its gear.  However, the paint finish was still pretty reasonable.  No engines, of course.  They will have been salvaged at some point when it became clear the airframe was not going to be a flier again.  The grass had grown up quite a bit around it.  Late June probably means it grows well and someone hadn’t cut it for a while.  I wandered around to try and get different angles on it.  The light was rather shady and I was using my phone rather than the main cameras but it was fine.  There was even a large rock that could be used to gain some elevation.  This trip was proving to be a lucky one for getting unplanned things and this added to that in a way we hadn’t anticipated.

Heron Fast Food Joint

I walked out on to the jetty at Olga to look back at the shoreline.  A short distance around the shore was an inlet which had about a dozen herons fishing within it.  They were constantly stalking through the shallows and grabbing at fish as they passed by.  With so many of them there, it must be a productive place to hunt.  A heron drive through (or should that be fly through?).

Heron Hang Out

The end of the boardwalk at Nisqually brought me to a view over a piece of land that seemed to be the favored spot for the herons.  I had never seen so many in such close proximity.  They were hanging out on the grass rather than by the water so maybe this is a safe spot to rest after a busy session of fishing before heading back to the water to start feeding again.  Periodically, one of them would head back to the mud flats to look for some food but the rest were just hanging around doing nothing much in particular but slowly wandering around their buddies.

Who Can Identify a Heron?

Anyone a bird specialist reading this?  I saw this heron sitting in the trees along the shore at Camano Island.  It didn’t seem in a hurry to go anywhere and wasn’t spooked as I got closer to its perch to get some shots.  It was high enough that it didn’t see me as relevant.  I have seen Great Blue Herons but this didn’t look like that (it could be and I just didn’t recognize it).  If you know what it is, please let me know.

Heron Hunting

On our day trip to Fir Island, one of the first birds we came across was a heron that was standing in the water near the parking lot catching lunch.  I am guessing that the fish in these waters were pretty small because he seemed to catch a lot but always was after another.  Must have been bite sized portions!  With the water so calm, his reflection was very clear giving a nice emphasis to the shape of the body.

Roger Goes Fishing

One evening, while having dinner near the beach, we saw a flash of wings as a bird flew down to the water’s edge and landed.  It was a heron.  He was standing on the rocks as the waves washed in.  Every once in a while, he would catch a fish and then walk away from the water before dealing with his meal.  We talked to the staff about him and they told us he was a regular feature every evening.  They had even named him Roger.  Each night we came by to see if Roger was there and, sure enough, there he was.  Same spot each time, just standing and waiting for dinner to come to him.  On our first night he was joined by a manta ray that came in very close inshore but, sadly, he never showed up again while I was there with a camera.  Roger was far more reliable though.