Males choose the nest site and display to ward off rivals and attract a mate. Displays include drawing head back with blue throat pouch extended and bill pointed upward, spreading tail, and fluttering wings; also thrusting head forward and downward in rapid repeated strokes.
The nest site is on ground, either level or steeply sloped. The nest consists of a mound of seaweed, eelgrass, algae, cemented by droppings. Most nest material is obtained underwater with the male doing most of gathering and the female most of the building. A pair may use the same nest every year, adding to it annually.
While at Bird Island, I met another photographer who kindly shared the location of three Black-crowned Night Heron nests, two of the nests already with chicks, while the third had three beautiful pale green eggs being carefully tended by the female.
All these nests are located on small islands so away from human disturbance. They only thing they have to contend with are predators including crows, gulls, hawks and a resident pair of peregrine falcons. If unfledged chicks happen to fall out of the nests to the rocks or ocean below, they have pretty much sealed their fate.
Deriving its name from the offshore rocks at Punta de los Lobos Marinos, Point of the Sea Wolves, where the sound of the sea lions carries inland, the Reserve has often been called "the crown jewel of the State Park System" and it is easy to see why. Spectacular scenery, rock formations, hidden coves with turquoise water, and an incredible array of birds, wildlife, plants and trees can be found here. There is nowhere else like it on earth and I am so very fortunate to have it right on my doorstep.
If you decide to visit, weekends can be crazy, so arriving at the park when it opens at 8:00am is best. Otherwise, weekdays are going to be your safest bet.
