After watching these 2 birds from the egg, through near fatal attacks, until full size, our biggest fear was to arrive one day to an empty nest. A story with no ending. However…

The larger of the 2 was moving around outside the nest. Bouncing with the wind, and just staring into space.

Suddenly he just jumped, and I was completely unprepared. Obviously he wasn’t.

A slight drop, a bit lower than was comfortably,  but a flight that was pretty smooth.

The landing could have been better, at the least a better spot than in the middle of the tree branches.

Both of us breathed a sigh of relief on the landing. The heron was funny since all of a sudden he was looking around, breathing heavy, in a ‘oh ____ what have I done’ moment.

The times has come where the young, at least one, is almost the size of the adults. No fly time yet, but they practice in place now.

The smaller juvenile still waits for an opening. With luck the first will fly and the second get all the attention.

The new neighbors have reached a truce it appears. Once the eggs hatch that might end, but for now it’s just a little ‘yelling’ back and forth.

This image was taken to give a different perspective on the nest and location. The usual shots are directly in front of the trees. This is from down the water and at a greater distance.

Above you see two items of note. The first is a nesting pair of Great Egrets closer than living in a city apartment. Egrets are the birds that had attacked the young when they were smaller. The birds still keep a close eye on them.

The second item is just how large the birds are compared to the nest. Another critical time has been reached for them. Close quarters means fighting between the chicks. One bad move and a fall is a very real possibility. I have seen close calls. A fall is fatal.

So far all is well though.

A recent visit to check on the young herons gave us a big surprise. Actually 2 big ones.

At this point the egrets have no interest in arguing with them. They have a nest a few yards away, and stay there.

The adults seem to have learned to stay near, and bring lots of food.

I feel bad for the adults when they arrive. The young birds just jump all over them demanding to be fed.

Their wings have feathers now and the next step is testing lift off, and then the first flight. There is no room for error on that flight so I hope they practice.

When out checking the status of these 2 chicks all seemed fine. Except for their appearance.

Wow…

The size difference is clear. However, both are now up and moving. Not a great thing when hanging 40 feet over swamp water. They can protect themselves now though.

Documenting these young birds does not have to be all drama. Actually I think I’d prefer a little less.

This was taken on a short walk by the nests to check progress. Nothing to list here except both young are getting much taller.

As these two young birds have grown it’s become easier to spot them moving around. At this point the oldest bird can stand pretty tall. To date they have survived several attacks and probably just as dangerous, the famous southern thunder storms.

I was at the nest the other day just as one of the adults returned. To the chicks this meant…Food !!

The take out has been delivered.

Adult Great Blue Herons are almost the opposite of Great Egrets. Their interaction is one of bonding.

Herons have a greeting all their own. They hug.  At first we watched and tried not to put our own human feelings to this ritual. They are wild animals. However the following series is a typical greeting when the 2 adults meet at the nest.

Click an image to view the gallery.

Tale Of Two Herons, Adult Affection – Click To Enlarge

Tale Of Two Herons, Adult Affection – Click To Enlarge

Tale Of Two Herons, Adult Affection – Click To Enlarge

Tale Of Two Herons, Adult Affection – Click To Enlarge

Tale Of Two Herons, Adult Affection – Click To Enlarge

Usually one adult initiates resting their head on the other. At first I had thought it was the returning adult, next the adult who was guarding, now it appears to be either.

A male, female ? Good luck answering that one.