Date: 9/29/25 1:42 pm From: Nick Bolgiano <nickbolgiano...> Subject: Re: Herons still around? Urgent
I cover that location during the Christmas Bird Count and have learned to
get there at dawn because that is when the herons take off.
Last year, Dec 15, 2024, Betsy and I counted 29 Great Blue Herons, and the
year before, Dec 17, 2023, we counted 19.
So, some herons remain into the winter.
Nick Bolgiano
On Mon, Sep 29, 2025 at 12:43 PM Julia Plummer <julia...>
wrote:
> Hi Kelly,
>
> It looks like Karen had 25 Great Blue Herons at Fisherman's Paradise last
> night:
> https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Febird.org%2Fchecklist%2FS276175931&data=05%7C02%<7CSCBIRDCL...>%7C9d1f5e300ddc429cb6ea08ddff98c000%7C7cf48d453ddb4389a9c1c115526eb52e%7C0%7C0%7C638947753702813342%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=UjCaNQA%2F4HmQoxsaOywFFenKlv19eEYCiJu4BOyUfSU%3D&reserved=0 > <https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Febird.org%2Fchecklist%2FS276175931&data=05%7C02%<7CSCBIRDCL...>%7C9d1f5e300ddc429cb6ea08ddff98c000%7C7cf48d453ddb4389a9c1c115526eb52e%7C0%7C0%7C638947753702825484%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=FH6IK5Agoy7o6Y%2FvjHFjw9v3zW9cOP8eOVKF0jBn%2B70%3D&reserved=0> >
> Maybe she can weigh in on how focused they were on counting. But they are
> likely to still be coming in to roost tonight. Maybe closer to 25 than 70.
> But I couldn't find much in terms of earlier years where people reported
> the numbers later into September and early October.
>
> Julia
>
>
>
>
> On Mon, Sep 29, 2025 at 12:30 PM Kelly Johnson <kellyacjohnson...>
> wrote:
>
>> Hi, I tried to post a couple of hours ago and can’t tell if it worked.
>> Can anyone tell me if the herons are still roosting at fisherman’s
>> paradise? Family members considered driving in today to see them.
>> Kelly
>>
>> > On Sep 10, 2025, at 10:27 AM, Julia Plummer <julia...>
>> wrote:
>> >
>> >
>> > Yesterday, we had a very successful field trip to Fisherman's Paradise
>> to observe the Great Blue Herons coming in to roost. We estimated that at
>> least 50 people came to observe the herons, which didn't disappoint.
>> Between the time I arrived (early - at 6:10PM) and when I left around 8PM,
>> at least 70 Great Blue Heron's were observed flying into the trees to
>> roost. If you didn't get to attend last night, the herons will still be
>> coming in to roost at the site for a while longer.
>> >
>> > We also observed at least four bald eagles (two adults and two younger
>> birds). And a big thrill for many of us was seeing several small groups of
>> common nighthawks (I counted at least 33 total) hunting overhead during the
>> evening.
>> >
>> > Great Blue Herons can be found roosting here in summer but as we head
>> into October, most will migrate south. There are some Great Blue Herons in
>> our area over the winter, but most Great Blue Herons from the Eastern US
>> spend the winter in the southern US, Mexico, and the Caribbean. We're not
>> sure where these herons build their nests, but it doesn't seem to be in
>> this same roosting site.
>> >
>> > Julia
>> >
>> >
>> > Fisherman's Paradise/Bellefonte State Fish Hatchery
>> > Sep 9, 2025
>> > 6:10 PM
>> > Traveling
>> > 0.48 miles
>> > 117 Minutes
>> > All birds reported? Yes
>> > Comments: State College Bird Club field trip
>> > Submitted from eBird for iOS, version 3.4.1 Build 3.4.5
>> >
>> > 12 Mallard
>> > 3 Mourning Dove
>> > 33 Common Nighthawk
>> > 70 Great Blue Heron -- I counted about 50 individual birds then added
>> another 20 based on counts other people did while I wasn’t watching.
>> > 44 Turkey Vulture
>> > 4 Bald Eagle
>> > 1 Pileated Woodpecker
>> > 1 Eastern Phoebe
>> > 2 Blue Jay
>> > 4 American Crow
>> > 1 Tufted Titmouse
>> > 1 Carolina Wren
>> > 1 American Robin
>> > 10 Cedar Waxwing
>> > 1 American Goldfinch
>> > 2 Chipping Sparrow
>> >
>> > Number of Taxa: 16
>> >
>> > Sent from my iPhone
>>
>
