The Daily Bucket is a regular feature of the Backyard Science group. It is a place to note of any observations you have made of the world around you. Insects, weather, meteorites, climate, birds and/or flowers. All are worthy additions to the bucket. Please let us know what is going on around you in a comment. Include, as close as is comfortable for you, where you are located. Each note is a record that we can refer to in the future as we try to understand the patterns that are quietly unwinding around us.
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Lake Chabot, CA
Continued below the orange nest
This continues a series of reports on the Lake Chabot, CA, Great Blue Heron Colony. The most recent prior report is Here.
When we entered the park on Sunday, June 2, the person manning the entrance kiosk informed us that one of the "babies" had been seen walking on one of the hiking trails. This makes it a fledgeling which has not only left the nest, but left the island and crossed a significant width of water to get to the trail. That was good news in itself, as well as evidence that the decline in the number of nestlings we noted in the prior nest count were due to the nestlings fledging.
When we checked the nest area ftrom our observing sites, we were only able to discover one active nest and it appeared to contain only two young. During the hour that we were observinv, we saw at least 3 adult herons flying about, but none visited the nest, indicating that the adults felt that the nestlings needed minimal attention, protection and care. This means that they are pretty much ready to fledge too.
So except for 2 remaining nestlings, it looks like the nestlings in the Lake Chabot Colony have fledged as of June 2, 2013.
Your turn
So what is happening where you are, and, of course, where is that? Please report any nature sightings in the comments as usual. Thank you.