Subject: [Tweeters] Update on the Edmonds Marina Heron nest
Date: Jun 5 00:10:08 2010
From: Christy RJ - christyrj at hotmail.com



Hi Tweeters,



I was able to visit Edmonds Marina and the Great Blue Heron nest again yesterday (Thursday) mid-day. The conditions could hardly have been better for photography and watching the nest. It was sunny and beautiful at the marina, with clouds and storms threatening to the North and South. All was calm and serene, so I wasn't buffeted by wind as I was on Monday. I also brought my tripod this time, and had a better handle on aperture and shutter speed.



The hatchlings were chattering as I arrived, but very quickly settled down. During my time of observation (about a half hour starting at roughly 11:45a) they mostly napped, occasionally moving about to stretch, resettle themslves, or copy the resident parent in grooming and preening. It was quite fun to watch them all - I easily could have stayed all afternoon had I not needed to return to work.



Sadly, my observation and images revealed only three chicks this time, not four. I wonder if the runt is still surviving? I only caught him/her last time (Memorial Day) because the siblings were all standing up and reaching toward the parent to be fed, thus allowing room for the runt's head to stick up. I hope the little one is still with us. Has anyone else got an update?



As for the visible chicks, they have sure grown in just 3 days! Honestly I think they've easily doubled in size since Monday!



While the weather conditions were perfect for picture-taking, the birds weren't quite as cooperative as they were the other day. Seems I was there during afternoon nap time. I greatly enjoyed the hilarity of watching one chick gradually falling asleep, it's head slowly craning back farther and farther and it's beak pointing first directly to 12 o'clock and then gradually moving to 1:00, 2:00, 3:00 and so on until the chick snapped awake again and tried to snuggle in closer to its siblings. Cute. :)



Here's a link to some of the shots I took yesterday. http://www.flickr.com/photos/18600129 at N05/sets/72157624206749542/ I think I caught the babies at a "cuter" state on Monday; yesterday they were more like gangly uncertain teenagers. :) I also shot a series of the parent extending one wing in a stretch that provides an interesting study of just how truly large the wingspan of these birds is. The series is interesting if you can watch the images in quick succession.



Cheers,



~Christy Jobe

Kenmore, WA

christyrj_at_hotmail

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