Heron Sweeties

by Judi Dressler

Title

Heron Sweeties

Artist

Judi Dressler

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

This pair of Great Blue Herons were sweeties who had decided to nest together. In this photo they seem to be taking a moment out of their busy nest building work to appreciate each other and maybe whisper sweet nothings! Soon they will get back to it -- the male will fly off and look for sticks, which he will bring back for the female to add to the nest they're standing on. Nesting is an an annual ritual for birds the world over. The early morning sun caused the beautiful warm colors you see in the image.

From Cornell's website: "Male Great Blue Herons collect much of the nest material, gathering sticks from the ground and nearby shrubs and trees, and from unguarded and abandoned nests, and presenting them to the female. She weaves a platform and a saucer-shaped nest cup, lining it with pine needles, moss, reeds, dry grass, mangrove leaves, or small twigs. Nest building can take from 3 days up to 2 weeks; the finished nest can range from a simple platform measuring 20 inches across to more elaborate structures used over multiple years, reaching 4 feet across and nearly 3.5 feet deep. Ground-nesting herons use vegetation such as salt grass to form the nest."

Photo taken on February 14, 2017, in Lakewood, Colorado

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Tied for 2nd Place in FAA's THE GREAT BLUE HERON contest, on 12/17/20

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Descriptive keywords and tags for this image include great blue,great blue heron,great blue herons, herons, gbh, couple, sweeties, nesting, nest, courting, mating, breeding, nest building, courtship, pair, love, in love, spring, colorado, ardea herodias, ardea, ardeidae, pelecaniformes, egret, egrets, wildlife, wild, shorebird, wader, avian, print, photograph, nature, animals, animal, photo, judi dressler, and dressler.

Uploaded

April 30th, 2019

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