{"id":15099,"date":"2014-05-14T21:29:51","date_gmt":"2014-05-15T02:29:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/?p=15099"},"modified":"2014-05-15T12:41:44","modified_gmt":"2014-05-15T17:41:44","slug":"we-have-great-blue-heron-babies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/?p=15099","title":{"rendered":"We Have Great Blue Heron Babies!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/post-001-960.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-15101\" title=\"post 001 480\" src=\"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/post-001-480.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"740\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/post-001-480.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/post-001-480-194x300.jpg 194w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00c2\u00a0<em><strong>Male Great Blue Heron Listens to Chattering Chicks<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">As the Turtle Journal team approached the SouthCoast rookery this morning we heard the unmistakable nattering of newborn great blue heron chicks echoing from their treetop nest. \u00c2\u00a0The male heron, evicted for the babies, stands on a branch under the nest, staring up at the noisy kids that chatter persistently, insistently and incessantly for attention.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/post-002-960.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-15103\" title=\"post 002 480\" src=\"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/post-002-480.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"735\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/post-002-480.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/post-002-480-195x300.jpg 195w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/post-003-960.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-15105\" title=\"post 003 480\" src=\"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/post-003-480.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"746\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/post-003-480.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/post-003-480-193x300.jpg 193w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em><strong>Female Great Blue Heron Prepares to Feed Chicks<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The male had just brought a freshly caught pond fish to the nest for momma to distribute. \u00c2\u00a0The female great blue heron tiptoes around the chattering chicks, picks up the fish, and begins processing it for the babies.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/post-004-960.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-15107\" title=\"post 004 480\" src=\"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/post-004-480.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"743\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/post-004-480.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/post-004-480-193x300.jpg 193w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em><strong>Female Great Blue Heron Predigests Fish<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">She swallows the fish to predigest it for the babies.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/post-005-960.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-15109\" title=\"post 005 480\" src=\"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/post-005-480.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"747\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/post-005-480.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/post-005-480-192x300.jpg 192w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/post-006-960.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-15111\" title=\"post 006 480\" src=\"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/post-006-480.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"747\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/post-006-480.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/post-006-480-192x300.jpg 192w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em><strong>Female Great Blue Heron Feeds New Chicks<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Then, after a few minutes, she shares the regurgitated fish with her pleading chicks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/post-007-960.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-15113\" title=\"post 007 480\" src=\"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/post-007-480.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"746\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/post-007-480.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/post-007-480-193x300.jpg 193w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em><strong>Female Great Blue Heron Rests on her Brood<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Once the sated kids quiet down, the female great blue heron settles in the nest with her resting brood beneath her.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/post-010-480.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-15115\" title=\"post 010 480\" src=\"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/post-010-480.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"340\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/post-010-480.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/post-010-480-300x212.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em><strong>Male Great Blue Heron Flies Off to Fish for Mamma and Chicks<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">But there is no rest for the male great blue heron. \u00c2\u00a0As momma feeds the babies, he glides down to the pond to hunt for more fish to satisfy the chicks when they begin to lobby for attention once again.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">GONE FISHING<\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/1-post-gbh-fishing-974-great-9601.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-15117\" title=\"1 post gbh fishing 974 great 480\" src=\"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/1-post-gbh-fishing-974-great-4801.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"368\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/1-post-gbh-fishing-974-great-4801.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/1-post-gbh-fishing-974-great-4801-300x230.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em><strong>Male Great Blue Heron Hunting for Fish<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The male great blue heron moves with delicate stealth as his eyes scan the murky shallows for movement.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/2-post-pond-fish-00-9601.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-15119\" title=\"2 post pond fish 00 480\" src=\"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/2-post-pond-fish-00-4801.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/2-post-pond-fish-00-4801.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/2-post-pond-fish-00-4801-240x300.jpg 240w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em><strong>Fish in Pond by Great Blue Heron Rookery<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The pond surrounding the rookery is filled with fresh water fish of just the right size for great blue herons.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/3-post-gbh-fishing-981-9601.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-15121\" title=\"3 post gbh fishing 981 480\" src=\"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/3-post-gbh-fishing-981-4801.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"374\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/3-post-gbh-fishing-981-4801.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/3-post-gbh-fishing-981-4801-300x233.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em><strong>Male Great Blue Heron Stabs for Fish<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The hunting heron spots his prey and stabs quickly at the water with open beak.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/4-post-gbh-fishing-985-9601.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-15123\" title=\"4 post gbh fishing 985 480\" src=\"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/4-post-gbh-fishing-985-4801.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"376\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/4-post-gbh-fishing-985-4801.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/4-post-gbh-fishing-985-4801-300x235.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em><strong>Male Great Blue Heron Catches Fish for Mom and Chicks<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Success! \u00c2\u00a0The great blue heron catches another fish for his hungry family.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00c2\u00a0Male Great Blue Heron Listens to Chattering Chicks As the Turtle Journal team approached the SouthCoast rookery this morning we heard the unmistakable nattering of newborn great blue heron chicks echoing from their treetop nest. \u00c2\u00a0The male heron, evicted for the babies, stands on a branch under the nest, staring up at the noisy kids [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[654,402],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15099"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15099"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15099\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15148,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15099\/revisions\/15148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}