One of the benefits of having birdwatching parents is their ability to take you right where the avian action is. This past weekend while I was visiting my family in Columbus, Ohio, we took our requisite trip to nearby Bexley to see two nesting pairs of yellow-crowned night herons.
Bexley is a swanky Columbus suburb, home to the Ohio governor’s mansion. It is also home to Graeter’s, which Tom Montag claims has the best ice cream this side of Heaven. (No, Tom, I still haven’t gotten there myself.) When you consider Bexley’s wide, tree-lined streets and the fact that Alum Creek flows right through its heart, it’s really no surprise that two pairs of yellow-crowns have deemed it a perfect place to raise a family.
When you have birdwatching parents, any phone call home includes an update on the “extended family”: the nesting owls, eagles, ospreys, and falcons. Many avid birders travel long distances and withstand harsh conditions to add another species to their lists, but my folks are birding homebodies, checking in a couple times a week on familiar feathered friends. Since these nesting night herons built their “drive up” nest about ten minutes from my parents’ house, my folks have a perpetual source of entertainment as they monitor the comings and goings of heron parents, the training flights of newly fledged young, and other avian exploits.
Here’s the requisite close-up of an adult night heron standing guard while a scruffy youngster peers from its nest. Say cheese, little guy!
Jun 22, 2005 at 12:29 pm
My hometown is Chillicothe. Ever been there? I like reading all your stories about Ohio…it makes me a little homesick though!
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Jun 22, 2005 at 5:40 pm
Nope, I’ve never been to Chillicothe, but I’ve heard of it & know where it is (something only another Ohioan could say, I suspect!)
There are a lot of Ohio expats floating around the blogosphere. As I like to quip, Ohio’s a good place to be *from*! 🙂
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Jun 22, 2005 at 6:23 pm
Wow I never would have expected to find them over a street like that. How cool.
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Jun 23, 2005 at 1:53 am
Hope you are enjoying your visit with your folks and being treated to all the birds and their hideaways. We have night herons who sometimes nest in the big trees on our street–and they can be fierce and they sure are messy and loud. I was walking my dog one night and one was walking on the ground. He/she spread her wings and began to chase Cookie who turned tail and didn’t attack. Scared me.
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Jun 24, 2005 at 9:58 pm
“When you have birdwatching parents, any phone call home includes an update on the “extended family””
I know this one well.. summer or winter, I usually get the news on the latest regular and unusual visitors to the dozens of special feeders (and trees) my father maintains at his lakefront home. Thanks for the smiles.
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