The Mamas & The Papas
... with a hint of the Byrds.
The other day, when Sara told me that local birders had reported spotting a Great Blue Heron couple building a new nest, my heart almost flew out of my chest — yes, in avian terms, a near heart-fledge! It had been about a year since we had lost track of our absolutely favorite individual bird: a White-tailed Kite we’d nicknamed Mama Kite, with a distinctive freckle in her right iris (just like Sara!). Observing Mama Kite and her mate raise a rambunctious crew of young’uns had so delighted us that we even began to think of ourselves as the juveniles’ human grandparents. And ever since then, on each of our frequent expeditions to the waterfront, we’d yearned to see Mama Kite again — ideally, raising a brand-new brood for us to ooh and aah over. But she was never there; at least, we never saw her.
These new reports reawakened a hope in me — that even if our days of following Mama Kite and her family might be gone forever, perhaps now we could peek in on the development of this nascent Great Blue Heron mishpuchah.
But first we had to find them. (Birders don’t divulge the exact locations of nests.)
We hopped on our bikes and headed out.
Sara had some educated guesses as to where to look for the tree in question. We checked out a few scattered groves that tended to be popular with roosting herons. Near that parking lot — nope. By that stinky dumpster — also nope. But Sara kept searching, and as usual I faithfully tagged along — waiting for her super-keen senses to pick up on some clue.
“Let’s try going here,” Sara suggested, pedaling around a curve — and there it was! Or I guess I should say: there they were!
From where we stood, we couldn’t see their nest — they were way, way up in that very tall tree — but in the picture I think you can kind of make out some twigs by the feet of the lower bird. In any case, we can assume that a new generation of this Great Blue Heron family is, at the very least, in the planning stages — meaning that Sara and I have new grandchicks on the way!
As we biked away, we were feeling absolutely giddy.
And then Sara saw something (it’s always Sara) — something, well, kiting: hovering in the air, facing into the wind, its wings flapping gently. It was, in fact, a kite. A White-tailed Kite.
Eventually, it alighted on the branch of a nearby tree.
Could it be … Mama Kite???
It was! Probably! (She never showed us the right side of her face — how uncooperative! — so we couldn’t look for that freckle in her iris.)
And then we heard a plaintive screech, from the top of another tree.
It was a juvenile White-tailed Kite!
More screeches: nestlings calling out for food.
A bit later, the family picture was completed when Papa Kite (the same one? a new one?) came swooping in, with what seemed to be a tasty (and recently deceased) rodent in his beak.
What a glorious birding day — and there were more wonders to come!
A Surf Scoter, looking like an A.I. experiment gone rogue:
A Pelagic Cormorant, having carefully applied a copious amount of hair-care product:
An adorable White-crowned Sparrow:
A contemplative-looking Great Egret:
An equally intense-looking Snowy Egret:
And it was a joy, as always, to see our American Kestrel friend on his favorite leafless branch:
I’m looking forward to going back and checking in again on Mama and Papa Heron — but not too soon, as we don’t want to become a nuisance or (God forbid) bring them undue attention from predators (like those ravenous crows that seem to lurk everywhere).
Sara’s been telling me: “Josh, wait until you see Great Blue Heron babies — they are the most amazing-looking things! Like out of a Jurassic-era nightmare!” Well, folks, what can I say? Thinking about becoming a self-appointed grandpa again — it just lifts my spirits!
This just knocked me out. The zoomed in photos and deeply particular observations reassure me that the world of birds (and by implication many other worlds) is A L I V E! Just what we need.
I’m in the Galapagos with an ornithologist on board. All wild and amazing. You must see for yourself.