A new first for me, as I have never seen Heron babies in their nests before.
So, come and let me show you my find.
I heard a weird scream up high, but there was nothing in the sky.
Then the sound was repeated, and it drew my eyes to the top of that high pine tree. See the two yellow arrows? They are pointing at two big nests.
Amazing how things work in nature and if one is alert, mother nature starts to show one her treasures. We just had coffee and we were outside in the street when I heard the sound. I can't repeat the sound here, but it was very loud and it befuddled my ears. This happened on the last day of our visit to the town of Montagu and before we left, we stopped at Leon's Restaurant to have some coffee and to say goodbye, as he had become a friend.
My Canon's zoom showed me that there were two nests.
I found it strange that two Herons would build their nests in the same tree, but so it was.
So, here is some more info about Herons.
The grey heron (Ardea cinerea) is a long-legged wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia, and also parts of Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but some populations from the more northern parts migrate southwards in autumn. A bird of wetland areas, it can be seen around lakes, rivers, ponds, marshes and on the sea coast. It feeds mostly on aquatic creatures which it catches after standing stationary beside or in the water, or stalking its prey through the shallows.
Can you believe this below?
In Ancient Egypt, the deity Bennu was depicted as a heron in New Kingdom artwork. In Ancient Rome, the heron was a bird of divination. Roast heron was once a specially prized dish; when George Neville became Archbishop of York in 1465, 400 herons were served to the guests.
First, I will show you the higher nest at the right top of the tree. That was a baby in the nest.
But I had to wait, as I was determined to get a clear shot.
Almost got it clear, but a branch was in the way.
Bang! It lifted its head and this was the best that I could get.
Two shots below of the second nest at the left of the tree.
I could see by the shape that this baby was much younger.
And finally, here you can see its head and its little beak still had a white color.
So, what a going away gift that mother nature gave me. I was very appreciative of the gift, even though it scrambled the time a bit of our planned trip back home. But I am sure if you had also seen this, you would take some time to get shots of them. As I got into the car, a small crowd had gathered, and they were all staring up at the top of the tree. A young guy came running up to the car's window and all that he said was, show me. So, I lifted the camera to show him and he shouted, Yay, a baby Turkey :)
Then we finally left to tackle the long country road back home.
I hope that you enjoyed the pictures.
Photos by Zac Smith-All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.
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