A fourth night-heron has returned to the Columbus colony's nesting area,
  completing a pair at the smaller nest. This nest looks too small to
accommodate even both parents, let alone five juveniles, and will have
to be enlarged. If this is the same pair as last year, they have a lousy
record at nest-building (last year their eggs ended up on the street).
This time, however, they seem to have at least a platform to start on,
even though it's on some rather frail-looking branches. Some debris
under the nest seems to indicate they've been trying to add to it, but
without much success. If you visit, please encourage them. The pair of
Cooper's hawks, whose nest is about 50 yds away, were very vocal this
morning, as if they might be making fun of the herons' inadequacies.
        Another thing. I visited the site with my friends from Chicago, Joel
Greenberg and his wife Cindy. Joel would like an excellent photo of one
of these nests, with birds of course (this year or previously), for his
blog entry on this site, so if anyone has one of which he/she is
particularly proud, I'll be glad to forward it to him over the next
couple of days; make sure to include your name and the date for
everlasting fame.
Bill Whan
Columbus
p.s. I probably don't have to suggest this to birders, but take
advantage of opportunities to show these striking birds to locals who
jog/bike/walk by, tell them a little about them, and thank them for
welcoming them to nest in their neighborhood.

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