Herons, spotted towhee, yellow warbler and a bald eagle that gets no respect

[Marcia Wade - Lafayette, Boulder County]

Regarding whether great blue heron juveniles are out and about, at this time last year at the Hygiene heronry, the juveniles were all still hopping around in the tree in which their nests were located, unable to fly.  At Hecla Lake (which used to be Hecla Reservoir, and which I believe is actually a pond) a pair of great blues has commenced (as of last week)  building a nest on the bird-nest platform the City of Louisville built on the island in the middle of the pond two years ago.  Also nesting on and around the pond are kildeer, spotted sandpipers, blacked capped night hawks, American avocets, red tailed hawks, and of course Canada geese and mallards.  Very nearby is a great horned owl nest - the two juveniles are out of the nest, and the parents bring them out by the pond nightly.  I also believe there is an osprey nest.. I wouldn't swear to that,  but several days ago a bald eagle was flying over the pond (I see him frequently over Hecla or nearby Waneka Lake in Lafayette), when an osprey appeared out of nowhere and chased him onto a high electrical tower.  The eagle sat atop the tower screaming in protest, and the osprey circled around and came at him on the tower.  I was too busy watching the eagle pitching a fit  through my viewfinder to see the osprey coming back around, so I took  a quick picture of him over the eagle's head as the eagle flew off, and then put that picture on top of the eagle one when I got home (dontcha just love digital photography??), so even tho not a true picture, it is an accurate depiction of the event.  After the osprey chased the eagle off, I watched him or her fly into a tree next to the pond.  I waited for more than a half hour to see him fly back out to no avail, so I drove over to the tree (I use a handicap scooter for birding) where I observed a large stick nest in it, and that is why I believe the osprey is nesting in that tree.  In the past two weeks, I have seen that eagle chased off by the osprey, a red tailed hawk and an ad hoc flock of really pissed off little birds.  White pelicans also laid eggs at Hecla a few weeks a go, but they did it on a little sandbar that goes under water when the pond is filled - four eggs were washed into the pond, and the pelicans abandoned the two left on the disappearing sandbar. Last night at Waneka, I was enchanted by spotted towhee singing his heart out right before dark.  Two day ago I saw a yellow warbler in the same spot singing his little heart out, and back  at Hecla a lovely little female yellow rumped warbler (myrtle) and a sage sparrow, and out at Stearns Lake, a male Audubon yellow rumped warbler.