This was the second stop of my morning. After laying down on the ground watching the owlets this morning for an hour starting at 6:45 am with the mercury at 30F (photos coming), I needed to warm up. Thus I took a series of short hikes as I drove around and checked osprey nests. The Canosia nest is my favorite, closely followed by “Steamshovel Sally”. This nest is surrounded by wetlands and very natural. I still needed to wear a winter parka to take these photographs. Being motionless, even standing, for 30 minutes waiting for some action can sometimes be tough.

The Nest … Looking for a Good Lady Osprey!

The Favorite Tree (about 150 yards from the nest)

As noted in yesterday’s post: Battling Birds – Part 1: Tree Swallows, I hiked into the Great Blue Heron Rookery. Until the bugs drive you away (the flies, not the mosquitoes), hanging out in the swamp is amazingly fun. The sights are fantastic.

Battling Birds: Part 2!

Loosely translated this heron is saying “get away from my woman”. This was one of the few nests out of 20+ which already had an incubating female. The others had bachelors waiting for ladies to migrate in north (see video … link for email subscribers).

High Rise Apartment

Domestic Bliss

Waiting for Godot

I hiked in to the Canosia Wildlife Preserve Great Blue Heron Rookery this morning. There is a fantastic swamp / pond that has been formed by the HUGE beaver dam. Birds and other mammals love the handiwork of the beavers (many generations).

In the story of bird migration, it is almost always the males of each species which return to summer nesting grounds first … followed by females later in the spring. Two Tree Swallows found a drowned birch tree … perfect for a nest. A Battle Royale was joined … very fierce and very short (less than one second). This battle was repeated many times as each male tree swallow desired the optimale nesting hole. Enjoy!

The “challenger” lands just above the defending champion, who notes his presence.

The Battle! (last image is of the challenger falling away and giving up for the moment)

The “champion” post fight with his nest hole!