This is Bird Note.

Hear those chicks call?

They're nestlings at a great blue heron colony.

During the winter and early spring,

herons make their nest out of sticks

and twigs high in the tree tops.

The male heron delivers the supplies,

stick by stick to the nest,

as the female arranges things.

First, she wedges a strong stick

near the main branch of a large fur,

spruce, or cottonwood tree

to make the core of the nest support.

Then she adds other sturdy sticks and branches,

delivered by her partner,

and finally, she weaves more flexible twigs

around the base to lock things in place safely for her young.

After she lays her eggs,

she and her partner take turns incubating the eggs for 28 days.

By the time they're six or seven weeks old,

the young begin to test the limits of their nest.

If they survive predators like eagles, hawks, or crows,

...