Great Blue Herons nesting and raising young near Pewaukee in Waukesha County Wisconsin in March of 2009

I discovered a roost in Pewaukee Wisconsin back in 2009. I followed it for a couple months. During that time I watch some of the nest building, adults sitting on eggs and feeding the young. I found out adults bring sticks and branches to the nest as maintenance continues on the nest until the young leave the nest. Food was being bought in from nearby lakes and steams as I watched the adult herons come with food from all directions to the roost area. In that spring I counted 34 nests in this rookery, 18 active. A couple of years later I returned to the area and it had changed drastically. Many of the trees had fallen and the area was no longer being used by the Great Blue Herons.

Great Blue Heron in flight just before landing at the nest

Great Blue Heron coming in for a landing to the nest

Great Blue Heron

Binomial name: Ardea herodias

Category: Bitterns, Herons, and Allies

Size: 46” long, 72” wing span

Weight: 5.3 lb

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Great Blue Heron bringing in a small branch to the nest that must be in need of repair or made stronger or bigger as the young grow

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Great Blue Heron just spending time by the nest

Great Blue Heron coming in for a landing near the nest

Great Blue Heron coming in for a landing near the nest

Great Blue Heron with young

Great Blue Heron with young

Great Blue Heron near the nest

Great Blue Heron near the nest

Great Blue Heron near the nest looking around

Great Blue Heron near the nest looking around

Great Blue Heron near the nest stretching

Great Blue Heron near the nest stretching

Great Blue Heron with young

Great Blue Heron with young

Great Blue Heron feeding the young with a fish from a nearby lake or stream

Great Blue Heron feeding the young with a fish from a nearby lake, river or stream

Great Blue Heron with young

Great Blue Heron with young

Great Blue Heron with young

Great Blue Heron with young

Great Blue Heron with young

Great Blue Heron with young

Great Blue Heron with young

Great Blue Heron with young

Great Blue Heron near the nest just watching the young

Great Blue Heron near the nest just watching the young

Rookery from a distance

Great Blue Heron rookery from a distance

Rookery from a distance

Great Blue Heron rookery from a distance

Great Blue Heron rookery from a distance

Great Blue Heron rookery from a distance

Great Blue Herons watching the eggs

Great Blue Herons watching the eggs in the nest

An airplane flies overhead and the young Great Blue Heron just look up and wonder

An airplane flies overhead and the young Great Blue Heron just look up and wonder

Great Blue Heron coming in for a landing at the nest

Great Blue Heron coming in for a landing at the nest

Great Blue Heron coming in for a landing at the nest

Great Blue Heron coming in for a landing at the nest

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About admin

Window to Wildlife features the photography of Jim Edlhuber. A lifelong native of Wisconsin, Jim has been photographing wildlife for 20 years. He considers himself an avid photographer and is always trying to capture nature and wildlife through his lens. He is in several photography clubs and has won numerous awards for his work. In recent years, Jim has focused mostly on birding photography and finds it to be the most challenging.

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