The Great Blue Heron Story (1989, sound)

e [Music] a cold March Wind Blows as the great blue herens rest they have just returned from Southern wintering areas to this Ohio heronry it is the same one they used last year and the same one Generations used before them the last of Winter's snow is melting each day a few more arrive to make up this large Lake Erie nesting colony of about a th000 pairs males arrive ahead of females Rivals squabble over nesting sites [Music] females select mates for the season largest Heron in North America the great blue stands about 4 ft tall the male Heron defends a territory a small area in the heronry including a Nest Landing in another's territory brings a noisy warning displays and threats it is difficult to decide who won or if there was room enough for both it takes a couple of weeks for all the herens to return establish a territory and select a mate some are just arriving While others are already repairing a nest earliest arrivals choose the more desirable Nest sites later migrants must use less stable nests or build new ones some will have to use smaller trees at the edge of the colony nests clustered close to the trunk of the tree are safer from wind and storm damage neighboring Birds tolerate one another from small territories when repairing an old nest the female commonly sits there while the male brings new materials these offerings also strengthen pear bonds there are a variety of courtship behaviors displaying and calling help pairs form their seasonal partnership nests from previous seasons are remodeled and added to each year nests that are used for several seasons may become as large as 4 ft across [Applause] during the building phase The Nest also serves as a stage for courtship and [Music] mating through the egg laying period mating occurs several times to ensure that the eggs will be fertile and produce [Applause] Young by late April all the herens have returned and the large nesting Colony the heronry is a center of activity eggs have been laid in many of the nests herens may lay three to seven eggs but four is typical they are laid during a period of 6 to 12 days for about 28 days the Heron must keep the eggs warm as the embryos form and grow nesting is in various St stages at the heronry some pairs have not even laid eggs yet once incubation starts they turn the eggs regularly turning helps the embryo develop [Music] properly it is difficult to distinguish male from female blue herand the male is usually slightly larger both male and female take turns incubating a periodic Nest exchange allows the relieved mate to go feed and [Music] exercise incubation must be nearly continuous day and night through all kinds of weather chilling could kill the embryo in the egg to observe the birds and film this story we had to build a blind in the midst of the har R the nests were in trees 50 to 80 ft in the air so our blind was placed on a high [Music] scaffold at 60 ft we found a vantage point with several nests and lots of activity we made many trips to the blind over a period of 5 months from early March until late July our visits were spaced to see all stages of the Heron's growth but to cause as little disturbance as possible to the herons we saw many animals around the heronry a migrating tree [Music] Sparrow other birds lived in the colony a starling and a house [Music] sparrow the house sparrow nested under a Heron's Nest a keen sense of hearing makes this bird aware of some rustling noise far below the nest it's a wood [Music] chuck he sniffs the air maybe testing for the delicate odor of a favorite plant to eat the young ferns called fiddle heads make tender marel there are other signs of the season spring Beauty and Trillium the trees are leafing out the leaves will provide shade from the hot summer [Music] sun hatching is underway three gray Downey chicks and one egg to [Music] go the chicks poke and Peck at one another a rivalry that occurs more often when the nestlings are [Music] [Applause] hungry the parent goes fishing swallows its catch and returns to the nest where it regurgitates the partially digested fish to feed the Young another feeding nearby the young here are older and quickly gobble up the small [Music] fish as with many newly hatched Birds Heron chicks take several days to develop the ability to regulate their temperature the adult Broods or covers them either warming them on chilly days or shading them from the sun's intense heat on warm days the parents let the young rest alone in the Sun for short periods less than 10 days old this chick is already caring for his newly appearing feathers one parent or the other usually stays near the nest until the chicks are about 3 weeks old these two we old chicks actively move around the nest to get exercise the new feathers growing on the wings and head give us a clue to their [Music] age it will still take several months before these gangly young grow into graceful adults in a nearby group of trees a different Heron is guarding its nesting territory too the green back Teran is one of the smallest Terin its size color and shape make it easy to identify itness alone a different behavior from the great blu's Colonial nesting habits though common it is not as widely distributed as the great blue heron the location of a heronry is probably determined primarily by nearness to a good fishing area to ensure enough food for the young with over 2,000 adults plus young this heronry in Ohio must have a very large fishing area like the wetlands around Lake Erie right after the young leave the nest all the herens disperse to other areas where adequate food is available but until then these Waters adjacent to the her R Supply a variety of fish amphibians and other animals which make up most of their diet sometimes they defend fishing territories as this one is [Music] [Applause] doing if the display Bluff doesn't work a fight results neither was injured but one chases the other in a definite show of dominance while some dispute territory others are at the serious business of catching fish for themselves and their nestlings this one is ready to return to its nest one parent has already fed but the young beg for more and the other parent is on its way the adults are not concerned with feeding each chick it is a matter of each fighting for its own food larger more aggressive nestlings often get more fish [Laughter] young demand food by grabbing and pulling on the parents bill this stimulates the parent to regurgitate the fish from its crop sometimes food doesn't come as fast as the young would like perhaps that big fish was harder to get back up the young gobble up the small fish but only pick at the large one still hungry these two continue the begging behavior on each other finally the adult takes the big fish back for itself nearby it is also feeding time it is easy to understand how such a large Colony needs a huge fishing area to support it momentarily satisfied these nestlings settle back to doze in the warm sun the daily routine in the heronry is well established now the young only need lots of fish to eat and time to grow until they can leave the nest at about 8 weeks of age in some nesting colonies the great blue heron nest with other species such as the great egret egrets are also members of the Heron family and are known for their beautiful plumes at one time they were hunted to near Extinction for their plume feathers which were used as decorations on [Music] hats another member of the Heron family also nests in this Colony the Black Crown Night Heron as its name implies it usually hunts for food at night flying up to stalk frogs crayfish and fish back at the Lake Erie herry we noticed that some of the trees are whitewashed with droppings from the nests if there are several nests in One Tree the large amount of droppings can kill it a common cause of many of the dead trees in heronries at 6 weeks old nearly grown young look more like the adults the large young crowd the nest platform and the adults often rest nearby left alone the young work over their feathers grooming cleaning and repairing called pening it is a habit Birds continue all their lives juveniles pester for food whenever the adult is around after the young or 4 weeks old the adults usually escape the pest ing by returning only at feeding time the hungry young finally stimulated the parent to feed now there is a tug of war over one large fish who will get the prize is anyone's guess by July the temperatures may get very high it is espcially hot for the herens on nests in dead trees the herand cool themselves by rapid motion of their throat similar to panting it is called G flutter Wing flapping is a common behavior for nestlings this size it's practice for coming flight the exercises which become more frequent as Harens approach the time to leave the nest strengthen their muscles and develop coordination when they make their first flight all muscles must be strong enough to propel them through the air they don't all fly at the same time perhaps seeing one fly stimulates others to try it Up and Away it works but not always some get tangled in trees and may die there this one struggles and recovers its upright pose not all are so lucky and a few land on the ground on their first flight this often means disaster parents do not feed them there if the young does not have enough strength to take off again it may not survive the biologist is studying herens and checks this one for General Health it is very thin the eye is still bright and alert its reflexes are still good too perhaps it will find some Fallen Timber to climb up on and fly away the biologist will let nature take its course not all herens nest in trees in some areas of Western North America where trees are not so common they nest in the marsh vegetation these short salt cedar trees in the Texas Gulf area make a different nesting habitat here the neighbors are the colorful and rare rosette spoon bills the bright pink and Crimson spoon bill is found around the Gulf of Mexico from Florida to Texas threatened or destroyed habitats make nesting areas scarce for spoon bills and herons in southern wintering areas great blue herens may be found in the company of great egrets but these birds so highly Colonial in their nesting areas are usually loners the rest of the year they stalk the low tide areas searching for small fish crabs and other prey the great blue heron has the largest range of all the herens and is the Heron people most commonly see in the wintering grounds around the Gulf of Mexico they fish the same Waters as several other herand the Yellow Crown Night Heron stay year around in the South and up the Atlantic coast the great white Heron is a resident of the Florida mangroves once thought to be a separate species the great white Heron is just a color phase of the great blue the little blue heron is usually a southern Nester but wanders North to Canada after the nesting season the tricolored Heron fishes open water but can often be found stalking fish from the mangrove trees primarily a southern resident it lives from California to the east coast the great blue heron incorrectly called a blue crane stalks its fish alone in the rolling ocean surf but spring will find it winging northward and once more becoming a colonial dweller in his traditional heronry as as long as the Heron has undisturbed nesting areas and good fishing areas uncontaminated by pesticides or acid rain it will continue to be a common sight in our natural heritage [Applause] [Applause] he [Music]