Folks, wonderful day,
Talk about adaptation.......Great Blue heron nesting at both Des Moines
Creek Beach and Saltwater Parks has failed the last couple of seasons
mostly because of Bald eagle predation So, the herons have simply and
literally moved into town! In a row of uptown, backyard conifers, I can
confirm today three nests; two having a pair of adults on them and the
third with a single hunkered-down adult. I could not see downy young, but
the adults were fiddling inside the nests, possibly rolling their eggs?
They were also VERY wary, and seemed to become more nervous as they were
being observed, maybe because of the big "eyes" of my field glasses. I
am reluctant to give the exact location, but email me individually and I
will provide the address.

I chatted with a fellow who has lived in the neighborhood for 20yrs and
who watches/remembers local birds. The GBH's apparently built the first
nest at this new site sometime last summer after the Beach Park hatchlings
contributed themselves to the development of the local eagle babies. It
is unknown whether there were any GBH fledglings at the "Plan B" nest.

So, this new nestsite effort will be monitored for the next few weeks (the
local neighborhood seems to care about "their" herons' welfare.). The
20yr resident has an exquisite Japanese-style yard with a 5' diameter
" water-lily" pool set in a gravel patio just outside his back door. The
GBH's came and cleaned out his Koi and any other gold/light colored
domestic fish. However, the black "gold"fish are not so easily seen by
the herons, and they are still surviving in the pool. The fellow
also showed me a small hanging (last year's) nest near his carport; the
nest was shaped like a mini-oriole style and was composed mostly of
mosses. I couldn't tell him for certain, but I suggested that it was
perhaps a Bushtit nest. Gotta look that one up; don't know many of the
bird nests yet, and if anyone wants to sing out what is is, go ahead!

Also saw within what-passes-for-the forest of the Beach Park, a Western
Wood peewee (silent) and a Pacific-slope flycatcher (singing
characteristic song).........good long comparative study of both birds.

Cheers and enjoy this wonderful Springtime in the NW!
Maureen Ellis me2 at u.washington.edu Univ of WA and Des Moines, WA