My Heron Song (As Opposed to Swan Song)

By Nick Kotula, JRA Guest Contributor

 

Clearing throat.  Playing pitch pipe.  Ahem… QUUARRRK!  SQUAAAAWK!  KWAAAaaaaark!...  Thank you, I’ll be here all week.

Heron onomatopoeia (I’d like to buy a vowel, Pat) aside, with the arrival of the Summer Solstice I am wrapping up my official visits to the Richmond Heronry at Pipeline Rapids.  I went out for one last visit.

A few of the adults are still popping by for visits, but for the most part the island is ruled by the kids.  You can distinguish the kids from the adults because they have spiky hair and listen to the most ridiculous music.  Seriously though, the crests of the juveniles are markedly different and they have not developed their full colors yet.

In addition to the GBHs there was another good friend there to say goodbye.  This osprey was perched in a nearby tree just waiting for his close-up.  Actually, there was an adult GBH fishing in the water nearby.  The osprey was watching and waiting.  The GBH caught a fish, and the osprey swooped in to steal it away.  Needless to say, the GBH was not happy.

If you head down to Pipeline you are probably going to see that there is a family of whistle pigs that haven taken up residence near the entrance.  Some people call them groundhogs, but the thought of a pig whistling makes me chuckle each time I say it.

Lastly, to celebrate the solstice the James River Park System held a candle float.  At least 30 people, including Ralph White, showed up to light things on fire, send them down the canal, and make a wish.  I assume the majority of those wishes were for cooler weather (which seems a bit counter-intuitive to me).

Getting serious for a moment, I have really enjoyed learning more about the Great Blue Heron, the James River, Pipeline Rapids, and the other creatures that call it home.  I’d like to thank the James River Association for both working to protect this precious natural resource and for giving me the space to talk about it.  I would also like to thank you, the reader, for well… reading!  I hope you have had as much fun as I have.  If there is anything else you would like to know about (be it bird, river, or otherwise) leave me a message in the comments!  I’ll still be around and I’m always happy to talk.