By Wilson Kerr — Columnist
My father taught me a trick. When you are in the woods, stop and look and listen. Usually, you will not hear or see much. Then find a place to sit, keep still, and… just wait.
Slowly, the forest will come alive as creatures startled by your presence relax again and reveal themselves. The longer you sit, the more you will see: a nuthatch hunting bugs moving down a tree trunk, headfirst.
A red squirrel resuming its search for acorns on the forest floor. The slow, gentle crunch of a doe’s hooves as she resumes her walk, having frozen at your intrusion. The natural world is best observed slowly and carefully.
But sometimes nature goes by in a flash and you have to be quick.
A glimpse of an owl’s silent wings through the trees. The surprising splash-slap of a beaver, gone before you knew it was there. The flash of a tail and the cracking of branches as a deer takes off.
Just west of Concord, there is an opportunity to see nature — at highway speed, literally.
Look up!
Heading west, before the 495 intersection, Route 2 runs just north of a swamp featuring tall, gray, dead trees. Now that you know where to look, sneak a quick (safe) glance next time you drive by and see if you can make out nests and large birds high in the trees.
What you’re seeing is a “rookery” of about 15 pairs of great blue herons!
Great blue herons (Ardea Herodias) roost together, and males build nests of sticks. The choice of these dead trees is a wise one, as the water below serves as a moat to deter predators.
Female herons lay three to seven eggs in the early summer, and both parents incubate them for 28 days. After hatching, one to two chicks will survive and are fed by both parents until they fledge (fly from the nest) in about 60 days.
The herons return
Once rare here due to unregulated hunting and polluted waterways, great blue herons have made a comeback and are now fairly common in New England and across the U.S. The comeback of beavers is related, as they make the ponds that drown the trees and create the right conditions for a rookery.
At over four feet tall with a six- to seven-foot wingspan, they’re the largest of the six species of heron in North America and the third-largest of the world’s 60-plus heron species. They live for about 15 years, hunting alone in shallow water and using their sharp bills to spear fish, frogs, and other creatures.
Early European settlers mistakenly called them “cranes,” but there is an easy way to distinguish the two: Cranes fly with their necks straight and extended, and herons fold their necks and tuck them in.
Great blue herons are not really blue, but their gray plumage has a bluish-slate hue, and they have a crown of black feathers.
Nature revealed
These majestic, striking birds evoke a primordial feeling in me. They seem wise and methodical, and watching them hunt is a lesson in patience. I find their slow, deliberate wingbeats calming and reassuring.
The fact that we can observe a rookery of great blue herons from our cars as we whiz by is a contrast I find interesting. They are in no hurry. They are doing what they have always done.
There are times when the natural world reveals itself at a glance. Now that you know where to spot them, I hope you will (safely) take a peek. Better yet, show your children the herons and wish these fellow parents well, high in their nests, above the wild place they call home.
Until next month, try my dad’s trick sometime and appreciate nature at whatever pace you can as you spend more Time Outdoors.
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Wilson Kerr lives in Concord and is an avid outdoorsman and amateur naturalist. This monthly column is written to help grow awareness of the wonders of nature. In this increasingly fast-paced and technology-packed world, it is important to stop and take in the beauty of our area and the animals that inhabit it. The author hopes this column will be read by families and used as a teaching tool and that you will spend more… Time Outdoors.
