Re: Nankeen Night Heron

[Rod Mackay <>]

Martin, the Nankeen Night Herons I have seen while kayaking on Jerrabomberra Creek behave in exactly the same way - no matter how hard you try you can't creep up on 'em, they always take to the air.  Interestingly I have often disturbed a group of 5 birds and on one occasion several years ago there were 2 adults and what appeared to me to be 3 juveniles, but I've never managed to find a nest.   Much as I would like to keep a closer eye on them the restricted access provisions mean I only get to paddle the creek once a year these days (with special permission from Michael Maconachie for the Bird Blitz), so I have no idea what's happening with Night Herons in that vicinity. 

Cheers

Rod

On 7/01/2015 12:32 PM, Martin Butterfield wrote:

I revisited the area yesterday and found 5 Nankeen Night herons.  They seemed 'agitated' in that they flew up as soon as we tried to get closer than about 70m from their perches.  However 4 of the 5 stayed very close to the willows from which they emerged and a couple re-entered quite quickly.  

I now consider they may well be nesting in there, but I can't see any way of getting into this dense vegetation - brambles are a feature - without disrupting the birds.  Hopefully by visiting every few days, if they are nesting I should spot some immature birds when they fledge.

Martin

Martin Butterfield

http://franmart.blogspot.com.au/

On 3 January 2015 at 16:49, Martin Butterfield <m("gmail.com","martinflab");" target="_blank">> wrote:

Neighbours reported a Nankeen Night Heron along the Molonglo Valley a few days ago.  I was able to relocate the bird this morning.  I have done a blog post for the information of Carwoola residents, which may also be of interest to this group.

Martin Butterfield

http://franmart.blogspot.com.au/