[caption id="attachment_290" align="alignleft" width="295" caption="Two black-crowned night-herons on Damariscove Island."]

I accompanied Bridie McGreavy, of the Lakes Environmental Association, to one of our largest inland great blue heron colonies.  Featuring 34 nests, this colony is even impressive in late winter before the birds have returned to breed.  Don Perkins, a freelance writer, was also on the hike and wrote a story for the Portland Press Herald.  View a pdf of the story here: 

It is March 2nd, and although I received 3 inches of snow 2 nights ago at my home, it was wet and heavy snow and had melted by noon.  The wind is blowing, but it is relatively warm air, sending me a hint of spring with every gust.  Birds are starting to move.  Recent observations of FOY (that’s “first of year” in case you’re not a birder) osprey and turkey vultures remind me that great blue herons will return to Maine within a few weeks’ time.  If my memory is correct, the first great blue heron that was reported on the Maine Birds List in 2009 was on March 12^th in Brunswick.  Two