Great Blue Heron, Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, California
I guess you can tell that I have been away from Iowa for a few days by looking at this photo. It was about time because it has been a few years since my last visit in the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve and in the San Joaquin Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary, both located in Southern California.
Bolsa Chica has only a few palm trees but they were occupied by a colony of Great Blue Herons. Nest material is mostly gathered by the males and they flew in and out and came back with long branches that were added to the nests. The males did their ”neck stretching” display and performed long display calls. We also heard both, males and females, snap their bill tips together as part of breeding and territorial display. The courtship of the herons in a rookery is a great excitement to watch and photograph. More to come from last weekend, so please stay tuned…