Eight days ago I found a Green Heron nest with its five chicks. I have patiently been waiting for the chicks to fledge. Today was the day! I arrived shortly after sunup, and rather than clumped together in the nest against the early morning chill, all five Green Heron chicks were clustered out in the open together enjoying the morning sun. Fledged!

At this point the chicks can not fly, but their wing aided leaps are rather comical. I hope you enjoy this sequence of feeding photographs. The parents when they flew in to feed were mobbed within inches of their life. Chicks is a relative term, and the young birds are close to the size of their parents. Remember, you may press or click upon any image to view at full size / resolution.

You will find three videos after the still images, including a feeding.

Green Heron Chicks … enjoying the early morning sun

Mom arrives … mob her!

Feeding in progress

Mom planing her escape

Where did breakfast go? (chicks can not fly yet)

Calm reigns again  … at least till the next feeding … all five chicks

Green Heron Chicks … Mom arrives to feed the young

Dinner call … Mom is outside of the image area

Early morning preen

I got lucky this afternoon! Duluth is at the extreme northern edge of the Green Heron’s range. This bird is not too common up here. I was actually watching another bird with my binoculars when I noticed a “mound of feathers” deep in a tree nearby. Eureka! A Green Heron’s nest with four chicks.

Here is the range map provided by the Cornell School of Ornithology. I live at the tip of Lake Superior, which is just barely in this heron’s range.