At the Rookery

It wouldn't be spring without a visit to a great blue heron rookery. So, when I learned that there is a rookery at Boyce-Mayview Park in Upper St. Clair I had to investigate it. It was a beautiful spring morning when we headed out to the park where we were greeted by red-winged blackbirds and the first bluebirds of the season.
Finally, after making a wrong turn and having to climb up a hill, we saw the rookery across the creek. It was quiet time and the only action we saw was a heron who kept flying to an abandoned nest across the creek. Was it a nest from last year? Who knows, but the heron seemed to think it was a convenient way to build a new nest. While we observed the herons we saw a red-tailed hawk from above.
All in all, it was a successful day of birding, especially once we found an almost level trail that took us back to our car.

The Rookery

Yesterday was a gorgeous day and most importantly, it wasn't windy. We therefore headed out to Big Sewickley Creek Road near Ambridge to view the Great Blue Heron rookery we had discovered last year. There must have been 20 or more nests, but photographing them was difficult. Many branches obstruct the view, making focusing and taking a decent photo almost impossible. To show you what I had to cope with I'm including some of my photos here.
Every now and then, one heron took off in flight and glided over the valley. I could never figure out where they flew. When they returned with a stick in their beak they "handed" it to their partner who was busy outfitting the nest. Occasionally, a fight erupted and the herons honked at each other, almost sounding like Canada Geese.