Magic Heron Tree

A few years ago, before I moved to my remote mountain community, I lived and worked in Denver. I’ve never been a city person, so I wasn’t very happy about my urban existence. At least my job was located in the outskirts of Denver and I could see some wildlife now and then. On my way to work every day, I drove through an office park next to a golf course, and I soon noticed a huge tree with several great blue heron nests in it. I took a co-worker to see it one day during our lunch break, and I described it as the Magic Heron Tree. The name stuck.

The herons return every year. I always watched them on my way to work, sometimes parking at one of the office buildings and staying for awhile if I had time. I remember one year an especially strong windstorm blew several of the nests out of the tree. I was heartbroken…but the birds rebuilt.

Last week I found myself traveling in that area, and I thought I would drive by and re-visit the Magic Heron Tree. It’s springtime, I thought, and the birds should be building nests. Sure enough, there’s a lot of activity in the tree, and I was so glad to see it. I’ve always wondered if these birds are all part of the same family…did these adults hatch in this tree? Do the same birds return every year, or are they different birds?

When developers built this sprawling suburb in northwest Denver, they spared this tree and the pond at its base because of the golf course surrounding it. Local heron families turned it into a bird condo complex. I swear, this is the absolute biggest tree for miles around.

These neighbors agreed to live fairly close to each other.

That is a big nest!

I hope she’s sitting on eggs already…

I counted 6 nests.