Migrant and question

[Pat]

We've had a Spotted Sandpiper visiting us for a couple of days. First of the fall migrants.

Also, we have Green Herons that fly up the Jones Creek every evening, presumably to roost. For two years we've seen five of them. Before that we saw four. Yesterday we counted 15! Is it possible we have that many, or are the five we thought we had circling around and passing us several times?!

Pat

Pat Valdata

Crisfield, MD

Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone

[Robert McLean]

Hi Pat,

Interesting question about whether Grreen Herons ever congregate.

Generally they nest as a single pair. Occasionally, they nest in loose colonies of 10-20 birds. See the Minnesota Bird Atlas publications. Also, Cornell’s All About Birds has the following information about Green Herons, which also appears to confirm the above.

Good birding!

Taylor McLean

Baltimore, MD

Sent from my iPhone

On Jul 24, 2025, at 6:44 PM, Pat <pval...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[David Gibson]

Hi all, Taylor, I believe you're right about Green Herons nesting singly and in colonies. They're considered colonial waterbirds. There are a number of Green Heron colonial nesting sites on the Eastern Seaboard, but relatively few accessible ones. Fortunately, we have an accessible one here in a small city park in Chesapeake, VA that I've monitored for years. At times it has had well over a dozen nests, many in Japanese Maples, and often many in the same tree. 

Dave Gibson

https://birdpartner.com/

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mdbirding/F450B78A-BBB0-4DB8-945C-815F23B7FD7A%40gmail.com.