When I took the photos below, I was standing braced against the side of the upper deck of the Blue Moon as we moved along the windy Tennessee River approaching a great blue heron colony. I was thinking how exciting to actually see herons at their nests from a closer distance without disturbing them.
In this colony, only one pair built their nest in the trees. The rest used the braces of a tranformer tower for their platforms.
As an artist who enjoys observing animal and bird behavior, I aim for reference photos and that intimate connection that stirs my joy and the desire to create. And I try to capture the moment, images that bring me new insights into the world of my subject.
In this case, I was hoping for something a little more than what I knew and what I got was packed with exciting information about another species that lives near the water in east Tennessee and now thrives, despite the fact that it once was rapidly disappearing. 
The heron above seems to have landed on an empty nest. But nestled down in its center is his mate who soon rose up to greet him and received the fresh twig.
Below, another heron flies toward the lower level braces where he has positioned his nest. You can see his mate waiting expectantly for his arrival. As you move through the photos notice how the pair greet each other, erect their plumes and stretch their necks to display their plumage, a ritual that helps anchor their pair bond. 
In this case, I was hoping for something a little more than what I knew and what I got was packed with exciting information about another species that lives near the water in east Tennessee and now thrives, despite the fact that it once was rapidly disappearing. The heron above seems to have landed on an empty nest. But nestled down in its center is his mate who soon rose up to greet him and received the fresh twig.Below, another heron flies toward the lower level braces where he has positioned his nest. You can see his mate waiting expectantly for his arrival. As you move through the photos notice how the pair greet each other, erect their plumes and stretch their necks to display their plumage, a ritual that helps anchor their pair bond. 
When I looked at these images, I saw what none of us could see in the few minutes it took to pass the rookery. That this moment was captured frame by frame in a time that spanned less than 60 seconds makes me feel even more privileged. It was one of those gifts of place and time that nature sometimes hands us unexpectedly. In fact, my whole experience on the cruise seemed to be like that. 
While we wait a bit longer for the human version of spring to arrive, there is plenty of evidence in Tennessee’s bird community that spring is already underway.
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Linked to Bird Photography Weekly #29 at Birdfreak.com in support of the conservation of our world's birds.
The immature eagle then goes through a series of five annual partial molts as it changes into adult plummage, usually by year five, and becomes the 
This beautiful subadult is probably into its third year of age, identified in part by that osprey-like look to his face, his yellowing cere and tawny but not dark beak. This I have on the opinion of a veteran birder observing him with me, only because I asked. And I did ask because I had never had the opportunity to see these facial markings before. Pretty striking, huh?
He was resting on a sandbar as we passed the 
And just before we encountered him, we spotted two more subadults in flight coming from the same area. He is believed to be the third of a group of subadults seen hanging out together over the winter. He sat quietly as we passed, then finally decided to lift off, presumably to join his buddies. Need I say what a gorgeous sight that was? The power in those wings...
In all we saw seven bald eagles, two adults and five subadults.
But this week I've experienced a different view of spring through the activities of several bird species that are deep into pair bonding and nesting here in east Tennessee, in southeastern USA. 
It was fortuitous that I made the decision yesterday to take a voyage on the Blue Moon, down the Tennessee River, departing from the Sale Creek Marina in Soddy Daisy, TN. Today I awoke to a blanket of fresh snow! But the source of my contentment goes much deeper than weather. It rests with the richness of our natural world and those who have loved it enough to help preserve it.
Our 3.5 hour journey on the Blue Moon took us from the 
I expected to see a bald eagle or two on this trip, but I wasn't expecting what I witnessed--a pair of eagles at the nest. 
Above in the warm sunlight you see one eagle perched on the nest, the other, directly above, is partially concealed by a pine bough. Wintering eagles arrive in Tennessee in late October and their numbers peak by late January to early February. But nesting bald eagles remain in Tennessee year around and are generally incubating by February 10-15. 
While we watched, the eagle on the upper branch lifted from his perch.
There were 14 active nests at Reelfoot Lake in western Tennessee in 1955. But Tennessee had no known successful eagle nests from 1961 until 1983. The hatching of one bald eaglet in 1983 marked the first known successful bald eagle nest in Tennessee in 22 years.
Due largely to the banning of the insecticide DDT in the U.S. in 1972 and restoration efforts since 1976, bald eagle nests in the lower 48 states doubled about every 6 years from 1980 to 2001.
I had not seen a bald eagle in the wild until I visited the 
Above, our hosts on the Blue Moon cruise. From left, Rick Houlk, one of the owners and cruise naturalist; yours truely; Will Ross, crew member; Dave Anderson, captain and interpreter.
And this reverence is well-earned. Like many animal and bird species, cranes mate for life, are territorial and protective of their families, and show emotion, including grief when a mate is lost. Sandhill cranes migrate in large flocks of family groups. You hear them even before you see them, that wonderful melodious call that fills the air and causes you to look up with wonder. And then you hear the tiny "peeps". The juveniles, though nearly the size of their parents, still have their chick voices until their vocal chords mature sometime near the end of their first year.
Animal behavior has always been one of my loves, second only to people behavior. So it was with great pleasure that I attended an eight-hour crane behavior workshop at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in San Antonio, New Mexico several years ago.
Sandhill cranes are peace-loving birds but it is their wonderful array of postural communication that allows them to co-exist in harmony while in wintering flocks of thousands. Though they do not require a large territory while staging, they still have territorial boundaries within the feeding area and they protect their feeding space with determination.
The crane above is not dancing. Though elegant and full of grace, he is displaying aggression. Cranes use a variety of postures and vocalizations to let intruders know they aren’t welcome.
Above you see a crane family with the male in front with head down, the juvenile in the middle and the female in the back. You will see some mud stains on the adults from painting themselves, a ritual that is of uncertain purpose but believed to be a part of courtship and an assist to camouflage while nesting.
Notice that the juvenile below still has rust feathers on his head and his wings and he has not yet developed the adult white facial marking. The rust feathers on the juvenile are more uniform in appearance than the painted mud stains on adult breeding birds.
These behaviors are usually sufficient to cause the intruder to back off. But when retreat does not occur the dispute intensifies and dust flies.
