Yellow-crowned night herons call Baltimore home
Each March, for the past several years, a handful of yellow-crowned night herons have decided to call Baltimore home.
-
- A pair of yellow-crowned night herons are seen on their nest in early April. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)
-
- A pair of yellow-crowned night herons engage in a courting ritual in early April. During the breeding season, the yellow legs of the adults become a pinkish-red. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)
-
- A pair of yellow-crowned night herons engage in a courting ritual in early April. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)
-
- A pair of yellow-crowned night herons engage in a courting ritual in early April. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)
-
- A male yellow-crowned night heron returns to the colony tree with a twig to present to his mate. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)
-
- A male yellow-crowned night heron returns to the colony tree with a twig to present to his mate. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)
-
- A male yellow-crowned night heron returns to the colony tree with a twig to present to his mate. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)
-
- A male yellow-crowned night heron returns to the colony tree. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)
-
- A male yellow-crowned night heron is greeted by his mate at the nest. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)
-
- A pair of yellow-crowned night herons engage in a courting ritual in early April. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)
-
- A pair of yellow-crowned night herons engage in a courting ritual in early April. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)
-
- A pair of yellow-crowned night herons engage in a courting ritual in early April. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)
-
- A pair of yellow-crowned night herons engage in a courting ritual. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)
-
- A yellow-crowned night heron tends to its clutch of eggs in late April. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)
-
- Birders watch the colony from the Wyman Park Drive bridge. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)
-
- A pair of yellow-crowned night herons engage in a courting ritual in May after losing all but one of their eggs from April. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)
-
- A pair of yellow-crowned night herons engage in a courting ritual in May after losing all but one of their eggs from April. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)
-
- A pair of yellow-crowned night herons engage in a courting ritual in May after losing all but one of their eggs from April. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)
-
- A yellow-crowned night herons continues to bring sticks to its nest in May. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)
-
- A three-week-old nestling appears to be assisting with nest maintenance. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)
-
- A three-week-old yellow-crowned night heron chick is seen in its nest. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)
-
- Yellow-crowned night heron chicks are seen in their nest. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)
-
- Yellow-crowned night heron chicks are seen in their nest. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)
-
- A curious yellow-crowned night heron chicks watches and insect flying above its nest. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)
-
- Three-week-old yellow-crowned night heron chicks are seen in their nest adjacent to a younger nest with eggs. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)
-
- A curious yellow-crowned night heron chicks watches and insect flying above its nest. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)
-
- A three-week-old yellow-crowned night heron chicks sits in its nest in a sycamore tree above the Jones Falls. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)
-
- A yellow-crowned night heron chick less than a week old is seen in its nest above the Jones Falls. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)
-
- Yellow-crowned night heron chicks, less than a week old, are seen in a nest above the Jones Falls. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)
-
- Yellow-crowned night heron chicks are seen in their nest. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)
The birds, rare for this area, built their nests in a sycamore tree hanging over Round Falls on the Jones Falls River. Despite being yards from the light rail tracks and the Jones Falls Expressway, the colony of lanky birds seem well-adapted to their urban existence.
In early April, before leaves were on the trees, the herons could easily be seen from the Wyman Park Drive bridge, displaying their courtship poses and gathering the perfect twigs for their nests. By May, most of the seven nests had a clutch of light blue eggs. On May 7th, the first chick appeared. Many more followed over the next couple of weeks.
Unfortunately, what was looking like a very good season for the colony turned bad very quickly. Over the course of two weeks the herons lost at least 19 chicks and eggs to unknown predators.
Most of the nests were abandoned, but a few pairs restarted in spite of all the hardship. As of this week, three nests remain with the parents dutifully tending to the next generation to hopefully call Baltimore home.
The persistence of nature never ceases to amaze.
Baltimore neighborhoods
Baltimore street photographers
Year in review
Freddie Gray: protests, aftermath
24 hours with...
A. Aubrey Bodine
Viewing Baltimore from above
Martha Johnston
Jun 22, 2014 @ 07:37:55
We observed three yellow-crowned night herons foraging in yards in our north Baltimore, non-waterfront neighborhood in June 2013 after exceptionally heavy rains. That was a first!