The Noisy Season

March is the month for awakening – at least here in the northern hemisphere. This is the time of year when birdsong fills the air and peepers sing the night away.

It’s also a good time to go on a “listening walk”. Pull on your boots and make sure your ears are ready, then head outside to hear what there is to hear in the awakening spring.

The Secret Lives of Great Blue Herons

Today the Cornell Lab of Ornithology put another live BirdCam online. This one peeks into the nest of Great Blue Herons. Folks at the Lab can see the nest from their staff lounge – and now, thanks to nest camera technology, we can too.

According to the Lab of O folks, the herons started building this nest in 2009. This year they returned to the nest in mid-March and soon began courting: bringing twigs, standing side by side in the nest, clattering their bills, and nipping at each other.

Last night at around 7:30 p.m., the heron laid her first egg. Great Blue Herons typically lay eggs every two days, sometimes three, until the clutch is complete. After that it will be 25–30 days before the chicks hatch, and they will spend another 7–8 weeks in the nest before they fledge.

To get good views of these large birds, the Lab of O installed two cameras, one from above the nest and the other at nest level. My BirdCam button links to the site where you'll find tabs for each nest. Soon there will be a whole egg carton full of nest cams to view. Have fun.

Tuesday's View

 

Woodpeckers drumming in the woods,

one on the tin roof of a barn - 

avian love taps.