before the weather turns sucky, i decided to head down to medina park to
check out the heronry...

i'm guessing these heron youngsters are within a week of first flight,
perhaps even sooner... several in the bottom two nests were trying out
their wings cautiously, never rising off the tarmac (as it were); it
shouldn't be long, though... i counted nine kids, though there may have
been ten (hard to see into the topmost nest)...

when the lighting started to get iffy, it was time to look in on the
bullock's orioles... found last year's nest and two other weaver-like
structures overhanging the northern pond, but these didn't seem to have any
recent activity (one was falling apart)... however, in the heron's own
deciduous tree, one of the male bullocks was actively weaving a new nest on
the northern-most branch, about two feet in from the edge...

also seen during the three hours were american crows, the requisite mallard
and house sparrow populations, a few nesting european starlings, a gaggle of
bushtits, at least two bullock's orioles, a belted kingfisher (the first one
i'd seen in three, maybe four weeks), a pair of gadwalls, and black-capped
chickadees... i didn't find evidence of the nuthatches that were nesting
last year, but i suppose this could have been due to forgetting exactly
which tree was theirs last year, too. getting old :)

oh: i can't NOT mention having talked with another photographer while at
the park, ron standley... he had been watching the herons for over an hour
before i arrived; recently retired from boeing, he says photography is a
hobby for him. after viewing just a few of the pics on his website, i'd
have to say he has "the stuff", and i can't wait to see what he will display
in the future... if he gives permission, i'll point folks to his website
offlist...

if you would like to view a few of the shots taken by moi today, wander on
down to www.parkgallery.org and click on "Photos of the Month"... the
herons predominate, but there are a few of the BUORs and one or two
others... enjoy!

00 caren
http://www.parkgallery.org
medina park
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