One Month at a Time: January 2014

One Month at a time is a group of about 13 photographers who record a time during the previous month that has resonated with them, in a story format.  As of this blog going live this group will be known as Tell me a Story.  

January is the beginning of the nesting season in Florida and this season has been very interesting for me.  I recently posted a blog on the surprising event I witnessed with the Anhinga.  I went to see baby chicks and ended up witnessing and photographing the making of the chicks.  

This week was the turn of the Great Blue Heron.  What you will be a part of, is the courting dance of the Great Blue Heron's.  Join me as I share what I witnessed the other day

It was late afternoon and the sun was starting to set.  Light was dimming. It started out with a Great Blue Heron stretching her neck up and making a noise similar to a barking sound.  She did this a couple of times while I was watching.  

Then another bird flew in with a stick in it's mouth......

........and I witnessed this incredible dance preformed before my very eyes. The wings are spread out and there is this flapping of wings and heads going up and down.  

Beyond that there is a dance of the beaks, that just fascinated me.  It was not a pecking at each other, but a moving backwards and forwards, and in and out of the becks.

I love the way the feathers spread out and stand up, and don't you just love the Anhinga to the side, and the look on it's face?

There is some pushing backwards and forwards while there becks are locked.

And then they groom each other for a period of time.  Rubbing against each other and passing their becks through the other birds feathers.

After the grooming they went back to building the nest and putting a stick in place, moving it until they are totally happy with the position of the stick.  

And then they will sit together for a while before he lies off to find another branch.

It was 5pm, bitterly cold, starting to darken and I was ready to head home. These two had huddled down together and in my opinion clearly cold.

As I walked away, the process began again for another Great Blue Heron. Head is up, she is making a barking kind of noise and appears to be calling her mate.  

I hope you enjoyed my visit to the Wetlands.  Look out for more on the nesting process and new chicks over the next few months.  

Don't forget to head over to Melinda Sauvageau to see what she has to offer.

“Dance is the hidden language of the soul” 

~ Matha Graham