How Herons Handle the Heat
We’ve had some hot sultry days this summer, and if you were smart you retreated to a shady spot or went for a swim at a nearby pond. But what about all those great blue heron nestlings that were sitting in their nests 20-100 feet up in a tree, often in full sun? Sure, their nest tree may be surrounded by water if it is a snag in a beaver flowage, but that water is completely inaccessible to a nestling who takes around 80 days to learn how to fly. How do they keep cool on those 90+ degree days? Like humans, birds rely on evaporative cooling to release heat; however, birds do not have swea
Herons Return to Colony Despite Nesting Owls
Last Wednesday I took to the field to check out a great blue heron colony that I have only seen once during an aerial survey in 2009. Since then, a volunteer has been monitoring the colony on the ground. I finally made personal contact with the landowners this
Rescue, Rehab and Release of a Great Blue Heron
The following was written and shared by Diane Winn of Avian Haven, one of the largest bird rehabilitation practices in New England. Located in Freedom, Maine, they have treated over 12,000 birds comprising over 100 species. [caption id="attachment_783" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Great Blue Heron found injured at Cobbosseecontee Lake.
HERON Volunteer View: Great Blue Herons Caught on Video
Photo by Deb DuttonJune is when nestlings appear in most great blue heron colonies in Maine. In Maine,
HERON Volunteer View: FOOD FIGHT
[caption id="attachment_662" align="alignleft" width="239" caption="An adult great blue heron arrives ready to feed its nestlings.
Heron Watchers Needed
[caption id="attachment_545" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="In April 2009 at this colony in downeast Maine, ice-out is not yet complete and the herons have yet to return.
Sebasticook Valley Middle School Outdoors Club Adopts Great Blue Heron Colony
[caption id="attachment_463" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="Logan Labree, Dalton McCaughlin and Rachel Bates measure and record the diameter of a great blue heron nest tree while Skip Walsh (in background) searches for another nest."]
Nondirectional Wandering Brings Southern Birds North to Maine
[caption id="attachment_444" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Cattle egret observed feeding on grasshoppers on Bailey Island in Harpswell.
Heron Trash Can Be a Researcher's Treasure
[caption id="attachment_380" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Remains found beneath heron nests.
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