The great blue herons have a annual nesting area in a cedar filled canyon on the Turk Ranch in southwest Texas and were photographed there. Prints may be purchased from "dotPhoto" by making your photo choice then click on icons on left. Pricing and available sizes of prints will then appear. Other merchandise with these images including posters and T-shirts available, click on "buy gifts" icon. All of the photographs in this album were taken on the Turk Ranch in southwest Texas. For more information click on banner above: "TurkRanch.com". Copyright on all photographs owned by Mike Turk or Rhonda Turk. Images may not be reproduced for sale or publication without signed agreement. For publication rights contact through E-mail address: phototurk@bigbend.net. THANKS, phototurk. NOTE: Not all photos in this album may be print quality. Some photos were taken in low-light conditions, or possibly at very long distance. Look closely at the feeding sequence at nest 3 and the size of the young birds in nest 4 in the photos taken 07-05-04. The young ones will soon be flying. There are 5 nests this year, but nest 5 is harder to photograph. We did not move in close enough for better photos until 7/5 for fear of disturbing the adult birds too much. In the photos taken 07-12-04 you will see a sad scene as the 2 larger siblings punish the runt. He may not survive; even the adult seemed to treat him rough when it came to feed. On 07-14-04 the nest 2 runt had been knocked to the ground; he will not be able to survive. In photos taken 07-22-04 you will see the first flight of 2 of the young herons from nest 4, but they are going to have to practice their landings. On 07-25-04 we experienced a large flood at the ranch (See photographs in Turk Ranch Flood Album). When visiting the canyon to photograph the herons on 07-31-04, we found that the young herons growth had been slowed due to the fact that the fresh water ways where the parents fished had also been flooded. This probably caused more difficulty for the adult birds to find fish for the young. The runt in nest 1 was no longer there but the other two were doing fine. Two birds are still flying quite well from nest 4 with the third just learning. The three herons in nest 3 are still doing fine as are the two in nest 2. This may be our last visit to the heron nesting area this year due to the increased workload on the ranch from the flood. We have gained a great respect for the great blue herons attempt to care for their young and reproduce through adverse circumstances. This is just one more strong evidence for the wonders that our God has created on this earth for us to experience. Explanation of coding: n=nest(each nest numbered); h=hatched; f=flight; s=surviving(then the number of young still in nest); r=runt or rejected; also then a photo number if needed.