It was the biggest nest we'd ever seen, nearly 3 feet across!
We sat and watched it for a very long time - or what passes for a long time when you are 4, 6 and 7 years old. It was at least 10 minutes.
We hoped to see what sort of bird would make this nest, but had no luck. It is, after all, not nesting season, so it's pretty unlikely that the homeowner was still about.
We logged our location though, so that we can find the nest again come spring. We aslo jotted down some facts so that we could develop a working theory about this nest.
Here they are, in the boys own words:
- it is real long, but not real deep.
- it is not a neat nest. It looks messy.
- it is not high up, but kinda low to the ground.
- it is very close to a creek.
Those facts, coupled with my men's now expert use of field guides, led them to conclusion that this nest belonged to a Great Blue Heron. 
I think it's a pretty good guess, but we'll have to wait, and hope and wonder for a few weeks more.
With a little luck, and if we can manage to be quiet and still enough to spy on the nest in use, we might get our answer when spring returns.
- Stefani
