Nesting

Celebrating the heron chicks and the 2019 colony season

June 19, 2019 By Marla Master

If attention equals connection, today about 200 people happily connected with herons in 45 + nests at the Commodore Park Great Blue Heron Colony. During the 6th annual heron birthday party, everyone enjoyed watching and listening to heron chicks chatter and clamor for food. Oh and about 75 chicks have hatched so far!!

Heron parents flew in and out with sticks to fortify their nests and with food to fortify their young. Young and old humans peered through telescopes for a close-up of chicks in the nests built high in alder trees.

Thank you to everyone who joined us. Nothing fills our hearts more than the joyous delight and wonder on your faces as you see and learn about our precious urban wildlife, the great blue heron.

An enthusiastic thank you to PCC Community Markets for donating treats to celebrate the continuing birth and health of the great blue heron in Seattle.

Colony Updates

April 26, 2019 By Marla Master

As of April 25, 2019, all is quiet these days at the Commodore Park Heron Colony. The noisy business of building or rebuilding nests, courting this year’s mate, and fighting off competitors has morphed into sitting on eggs for about a month as the nests, built high in alder trees, sway in the wind. The parents-to-be share the incubation duty, so when one is sitting on the nest, the other is foraging for food. This year, herons are incubating in 29 out of 31 available nests.

Look carefully at the photos below to see if you can spot the heron incubating. In the first, you’ll see an orange beak peaking out – in the second, tail feathers.

Chicks will begin hatching any day! We’ll keep you informed.