Hello friends,

These photos from my ipad are terrible, but I hope you can make this out – a heron nest with 2 youngsters on Roberts Bay!  (Please go out and take better photos if you can.) I took these August 28 morning. This nest is on the shore at 10383 Allbay, between the Ardwell Avenue beach access and the one by the mail boxes called Seagrass on the Town’s Parks map.

This is not as dramatic as the hawklet in the eagle’s nest on the other side of Roberts Bay earlier this year,  but very exciting nonetheless because since 2009 when I moved here and started walking the shore of Roberts’ Bay almost every day with my dogs,  I have  never seen a heron’s nest on this part of Roberts’ Bay. Longer term residents tell me there once was a heron rookery near The Latch, but it disappeared years ago. In the spring of 2010, before the Van Isle boat yard and maintenance facility was built on Harbour Road, my husband and I sat on our back deck and watched herons trying out nest sites in the trees around Eden Place and beside Bowden Road, but they seemed to be driven off by eagles and did not stay. No sign of them since, except the usual one or two wading and fishing in the shallows of Roberts Bay, with higher numbers earlier the summer.

2017 has been a remarkable year for herons in this part of Roberts Bay. During low tides in the morning, I have counted up to 24 herons fishing in the shallows, and many perching in the trees on the shore and on the other side of Allbay around Eden Place. I have wondered where they were nesting. Now at the end of August, with different tides, only one or two herons can be seen in the shallows at the time of my morning walk, but suddenly, here is this nest! It seems very late in the season; I hope everything is Ok with it.
Some of you may already know about this nest. It is very easy to spot if approached from the Ardwell beach access side. I understand that heron rookeries can be very noisy, but wouldn’t it be wonderful if more of them nest near here next year!

I just had to share this with neighbours and friends that I thought might be interested.

Jocelyn Gifford
Sidney BC

Editor’s Note:  We welcome contributions such as this to our website/blog.  Anybody watching out there – please take note of Jocelyn’s excellent example.  Please e-mail your material (text and photos) to farrellboyce@gmail.com . Jocelyn need not apologize for the quality of her photos. They are just fine – close to what we observe when we are walking about (not packing a camera with a big lens).  And by the way, other related material, sketches, poems etc. etc. are very welcome too.   Farrell Boyce