A while ago, Dave was reading the paper when he came across an article about Blue Herons on the James River. Well...we of course had to go check out the situation. And for as much as I scoffed at the little field trip, it did turn out to be a pretty neat excursion.
Here is one of our graceful and elegant Blue Heron friends that we met that day.
Blue Herons are by nature a very shy bird. They tend to build their nests around lakes or open water or wetlands. As a rule, when building their nests, they stay as far away from cities and urban developments as possible. Which is why it is so noteworthy that these herons on our James River are building their nests practically in our downtown area.
As the sign below states, there weren't any heron nests in this area just 4 years ago. Two years later in 2008 -- there were 34 nests. I counted over 45 nests the day we went in 2010.
Something is drawing these shy, retiring, and beautiful birds to Richmond's downtown area. And yes, those are actual herons sitting in their nests.
Their nests on situated on a little island area in the middle of the James River -- right below the rapids. Across from their island, are loft apartments and condos. To the west is I-95. To the north and south are the train tracks which see a tremendous amount of activity. This is a terribly congested area for these shy birds. Supposedly though, there is a small fish that runs the James River in the late winter, early spring that the Herons just LOVE to eat. Scientists think that this alone is the reason the Herons are choosing such a congested area to make their rookery. In the picture below, all of the dark spots in the trees are Heron nests. And these are just the ones that are noticeable from this side of the river. How many nests can you spot?!
The day that we were there, a guided tour full of birders (both amateur and professional) were staked out along the small beach....
....All to see this lovely bird!!
....All to see this lovely bird!!
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