Colonial nesters of the Bitterroot
As Mel Holloway and I approached the cottonwood gallery on Teller’s Bitterroot floodplain, it was not hard to see what stood out silhouetted against the evening sky. Yet, more than a visual image, the sound alone from the chorus of nesting herons would have alerted the most unsuspecting visitor.
Over 20 nests the size of garbage can lids constructed of large sticks and perched near the tops of the trees were all grouped into what is known as a heron nesting colony. Often referred to as a heronry, these colonies are revisited year after year by pairs of Great Blue Herons determined to raise a successful brood.
Mel quickly grabbed his camera and took up a spot concealed near a hawthorn tree to view the birds without disturbing their intrinsic annual urge to produce next year’s batch of Bitterroot Great Blue herons.