To Build a Bird

One morning, I watched a Great Blue Heron (GBH) land in a nearby tree.

Perhaps if it just sat there like most normally do, my attention would have been drawn away by something else.

But, it was doing a lot of looking around.

It's behavior kept me watching what it was up to. I could tell it had something in mind.

Then, I noticed several sticks resting on the limb that appeared to have been placed there.

I realized it was working on the rudimentary beginnings of what appeared to be a nest.

When I see something like courting activity or nest building outside the normal time period, it always makes me wonder what the bird is thinking. And, this was well past the nesting season.

It also raises other questions in my mind. There is no rookery near this location. Is this how a rookery gets it's start?

Would the GBH nest here by itself and outside the colony? GBH's are colonial birds.

Would others be tempted to join it and would this be the start of a new colony? Continued tomorrow.