Heron Rookery

 

 

 What is a rookery? These are Great Blue Herons nesting in a colony, yet it always called a "rookry." Once again the Internet comes up with a answer.  The term rookery originated because of the perceived similarities between a city slum and the nesting habits of the rook, a bird in the crow family. Rooks nest in large, noisy colonies consisting of multiple nests, often untidily crammed into a close group of treetops called a rookery.

  

On March 7, we arranged to meet a friend who is an experienced canoeist, and agreed to take us upstream on Harrad's Creek (the backyard creek of his house). We wanted to see the heron rookery, which we had missed last spring. With trepidation I managed to climb into the canoe without tipping either it or myself into the cold water and we set off. I should be OK until it's time to climb out again.We avoided getting smacked in the face by any branches and finally reached the main course of Harrod's Creek, swollen high by the flooding Ohio River.

At first I saw one or two nests made of branches...

 

...then I glanced to the left and saw many more nests in bare trees over the water. Actually, I didn't really expect the nests to have birds on them this early in the year.  Not  sure if they were sitting on eggs yet, or just getting things ready. David said there were over 80 nests several years ago, but the numbers keep dropping. Perhaps they regret their loss of privacy.

The places where we hiked to bird last spring were all under water, and we didn't see too many species. But we got a fine view of this Red-shouldered Hawk flying off with a mouse for his afternoon snack.

Surprise Birds

Black Vulture

This is the second time we have gone birding at Harrods Creek Park. Some friends said they saw Black-billed Cuckoos, so we thought, "Why not? Let's go!" There has been a lot of rain this week, and the creek itself is high, not so much from runoff as from back-up of the nearby Ohio River, so the trails were muddy. The vultures were not in their roost when we arrived, but had already taken off for the morning. You can see the white wing-tips of this Black Vulture and his stubby little tail, keys to identification for this species.

Canada Warbler

 Even the warbler Queens are shaking their head and saying the migration season is coming to an end. We have found more warblers than usual (because we've been out looking more than usual, I would guess) and today we added the Canada Warbler to our life list. At first we thought it was a Magnolia, but the black stripes don't go all the way down his side, and he has a huge white eye ring.

Cedar Waxwing

 A flock of Cedar Waxwings perched in a big sycamore tree. The poor sycamores have been hit by frost three times in the last couple of weeks, and are very late in sprouting their leaves. That's lucky for us birders!

Orchard Oriole

 Every time I see a dark orange breast with a dark head, I have to look carefully. It may be an Orchard Oriole, or it may be another robin. Sigh.

Prothonotary Warbler female

 As always, anytime we see birders with cameras looking intently into a tree, we go over and ask, "What you got there?" Today the response was Prothonotary Warblers! They must have a cavity nest nearby (Goodness knows there are plenty of cavities). This one must be the female, since she is disposing of the fecal sac from one of her youngsters!

Prothonotary Warbler

 Looking at the front of this bird, you would never guess he's such a beautiful blue-gray on the back.

Prothonotary Warbler singing

The male flitted around his territory making sure no one invaded. Just wait and he'll come close again.Then he sang with all his heart and you can see his little tongue vibrating!

Red-eyed Vireo

 I remember when I first learned about the Red-eyed Vireo, and although you hear it all the time, you rarely see it. I've gotten lucky or more skilled this spring, since it seems that I find one almost every time we go out. This one has a big yummy bug he was beating against the branch before eating it. Just to get it tenderized, I guess.

Wood Thrush

Wood Thrush

 The Wood Thrush is another of those heard but rarely seen birds. Always singing in the woods where you can't see them. I found a nest today, then this Wood Thrush was singing right over our heads. Looking around, I think this was his nest and he was defending it vigorously.

Great Blue Heron nest

We know there is a Great Blue Heron rookery somewhere on Harrods Creek. We asked hikers along the trail if they knew where the rookery was, and each one of them responded "huh?" not knowing anything about birds. At one point, we heard something that sounded like ducks quacking softly, and thought it might be the rookery. We have a friend who does know where the rookery is, and might be persuaded to take us up there in kayaks. If so, we need to go before they all grow up and fly away.