Turtle Journal

SouthCoast Sippican Great Heron Rookery

They’re big, they’re noisy, they’re demanding; so, it’s probably a good thing they’re also cuddly cute.  Great Blue Heron chicks in the SouthCoast Sippican rookery seem ready to fledge … not a moment too soon for their weary parents.

First Great Blue Heron Returned to Rookery on 24 March

On the morning of March 24th, with the ground still topped with a layer of ice and snow, the first Great Blue Heron returned to the SouthCoast Sippican rookery, occupying one of the four existing nests on the shore of Washburn pond.

Great Blue Heron with Two Large, Healthy Chicks

Today, two months and a few days later, that same Great Blue Heron guards two large and healthy chicks that seem on the verge of fledging.

Two Great Blue Heron Chicks Ready to Fledge

In the next tree over, another Great Blue Heron sits with another pair of huge chicks.  Two additional Great Blue Heron nests stand on nearby trees with chicks not yet at this stage of development. 

Ospreys Hold Stolen Great Blue Heron Nest

In the other direction, an osprey pair hold a nest that they took from Great Blue Herons last Spring and to which they have returned this Spring to nest.

American Oystercatcher “W5″ in Sippican Head of Harbor

While kayaking in Head of Sippican Harbor on Tuesday, the Turtle Journal team observed a pair of American oystercatchers foraging the low-tide-drained mudflats.

American Oystercatcher “W5” in Sippican Harbor

With closeup images of one of the pair, we confirmed a “W5” band.

American Oystercatcher “W5” Foraging in Sippican Harbor

“W5” struck a bell and a quick check of our records confirmed that we had documented this same bird nesting on Gravel Island in Sippican Harbor in 2010.  Earlier sightings of American oystercatchers on the SouthCoast can be seen in the Turtle Journal story:  American Oystercatchers on the South Coast of Massachusetts.

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) Returns

On Sunday morning, March 24th, the first Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) returned to the SouthCoast rookery in Marion, Massachusetts.  This lone Great Blue Heron stood tall in its nest and seemed focused on the horizon, as if waiting for its mate and others to arrive.

Empty Great Blue Heron Nest @ Marion Rookery

There are four heron nests directly on the shoreline of this Marion pond and several others in trees tucked away in the surrounding wetlands.  All of these other nests remained vacant this morning. 

Rebuiling Great Blue Heron Nest, April 2012

Last year we documented four pairs of Great Blue Herons on these pond-side trees rebuilding and buttressing their nests during the first week of April.  See Nest Building at the Great Blue Heron Rookery.

 

Former Great Blue Heron Nesters

 Osprey Pair That Evicted Herons

An aggressive pair of ospreys evicted a heron couple from their nest in the Great Blue Heron Rookery in Marion, Massachusetts.  The herons had arrived in late March and began to assemble their nest in a dead white pine tree at the edge of a freshwater pond.  Turtle Journal documented building of this heron nest in a video that can be seen by clicking here.

(See also  Great Blue Heron Rookery on Massachusetts South Coast and Nest Building at the Great Blue Heron Rookery.)

Osprey Pair Guarding Nest

Ospreys employed aggressive harassment to force the heron couple to leave and to take position of the nest for themselves.  Once in control, they significantly reinforced the existing heron nest.  We observe that both ospreys frequently leave the nest, presumably to fish.  One often lingers on the top of a nearby tree where it can observe its own nest, as well as activity in neighboring great blue heron nests.  Two heron nests still remain occupied within fifty feet of the osprey pair.  Several other heron nests are scattered in tree tops around this woody wetlands.

Great Blue Heron Gets Attacked by Osprey

While watching on Friday, Turtle Journal observed another harassment incident.  A great blue heron (as pictured above) returned to one of the nests close to the osprey pair.  He had a stick in his claw to reinforce his nest.  An osprey zoomed from its watch perch and swooped down directly at the heron; it slammed on its air brakes to hover face-to-face within feet of the heron, screeching at full volume.  The heron squawked, dropped the stick and flew away toward the far end of the pond … with the osprey zigzagging over him all the way.

Osprey on Former Great Blue Heron Nest

This osprey pair remains firmly in control of the former great blue heron nest and in command of the entire surrounding area.

 

Osprey Brings Home the “Bacon”

As we watch, ospreys often return to the nest with “takeout” food (usually a fresh fish) that they pick up in nearby Sippican Harbor to eat in the comfort of their commandeered home.