Great Blue Herons

Out in central NJ are two well established Great Blue Heron rookeries. They are always really interesting but are also tick laden so always check yourself for these pariahs. Mercer County: Ocean County: Looks to be a bumper crop, good luck little nesters!

Ocean County Park--The Sky Has Fallen

I loathe the polyanna role but I would be remiss as a conservationist and bird-lover to say nothing about what went down today at Ocean County Park. For the past 3 years I've been going out there to check on a large Great Blue Heron rookery that occupies a corner of the park. Here's a past blog post about it. Anyway, I havent had time to check it out this spring, but today I braved the treacherous drive through Lakewood to get there. It was a portend of what was to come that I saw a turkey vulture that was feasting on a dead cat get hit by a car and killed outright. Ugh, so making my way to rookery, I noticed that the chipwood path was not maintained and full of debris. When I got to the actual ring of trees, I saw why...it's half gone! Yeah some genius decided to take all the dead snags out of the center and then blaze a path through the living forest, clear to the center of the park. Horrified, I looked at what was left and could only count about 12 nests, out of the 36 or more that were there last year. To make it worse, I located the bodies of a few young chicks in their wrecked nests. Judging from the still green leaves on the branches, I'd say about 4 weeks ago, just as the chicks were hatching, one of those tree cutting machines came in and took out more than 20 trees. Whether this was just carelessness or actual disdain for the place, I cannot say. The result is that a jewel of Ocean County is now a shadow of its former self, with many of the remaining birds extremely stressed and many of the healthy trees damaged. Never going back.

Great Blue Heron Rookery

This one in Ocean County Park wasnt too hard to find...I just followed the dozens of herons that stalk the marshes out here. To be fair, there are probably a few in some hidden corners of NYC but out here they have the unspoiled and primeval appearance. At this one alone there are about 50 pairs, each producing from 1 to 3 young. Mortality is fairly high but the parents are very involved...reminding me of raptors the way they take turns caring for the young. Speaking of raptors...these guys should have a hatch soon too!

Part 3: Whole lotta Predatin' Goin' On!

With the huge numbers of birds on the move, both migrant and resident raptors adjust their behavior. By preying on the migrants as well as each other, the raptor world is in a constant state of flux. The resident kestrel pair have successfully fledged their brood this year, and no longer defend their territory as aggressively against the St. John the Divine RTH's. Instead they focus their attention on the increased suppply of food, supplemented by a healthy diet of migrants. I found the kestrel pair, hunting together and keeping a watch out for any other marauding raptors.

The female lifted off and wrapped around.

Coming to land just a few feet away!

I was shocked to see that this female has been banded! If anyone knows anything at all about kestrel banding projects in NYC, contact me ASAP!
I was just as shocked to see the female leap off

and join the male in pursuing a happless veery. They crisscrossed directly in front of me and chased the veery over the side of the building as it dove for the park! They were so close, I could hear the wingbeats! Truly an amazing site, but alas so quick I could not photograph it. They rejoined each other, again in formation.


Suddenly, the male began his shrill "killy, killy, killy" but did not rise to attack as the a resident RTH floated by!

The kestrels then went on scanning the park. Soon a confused little Golden Crowned Kinglet happened on the spot.

As it blindly blundered towards the kestrels, the male, then the female both dove off in hot pursuit. Another breathless chase insued, and I do not know the out come, but a few minutes later, both kestrels reappeared on a nearby antenna.









The female and the male both split up. TBC!

Also seen were a phoebe and a GBH!


Aside from the intense kestrel action...the Cooper's hawks have entered the picture. John Blakeman has indicated that Cooper's Hawk predation has kept kestrel numbers low in rural America. Here in the city, they definitely can take Kestrels, but its mostly young, as the adults have adopted strategies such as the one above. Also I have observed it where kestrels will pick perches such as antenna where the top, bottom and side approaches are covered from any potential ambush attack. As this next sequence shows, its the other Cooper's that some Cooper's have to worry about. Here's a juvy and an adult in a pretty intense confrontation.






The adult sees the juvy off!
O