Mating Blue Herons

This may sound crazy but I think I caught a blue heron couple mating yesterday. Can someone please help me confirm this? I have never seen birds consumate so I really do not know. This is not a joke but a serious attempt to understand how herons breed. Do they breed once a year? If it is a mating pair is this unusual to catch on camera?

Thanks

Yup they are getting down to business. Basically all birds breed in the same manner with the male getting on top and the birds aligning their genitals for consummation. It's not unusual in the sense that all mating birds do it, so if you are in the right place at the right time you will witness it - however it's certainly a brief encounter and something not everyone sees.

As for how often they breed, in Northern regions they breed just once, but I would venture that in the south (Florida for example) they may breed twice a year. Others with more experience/knowledge can verify this.

- Luke

I agree. Up here in the mid-latitudes the g.b.herons mate yearly...but to avoid a common misunderstanding of the term, although they "mate" and bring off but one brood yearly,they, like most birds, copulate repeatedly before and during egg-laying. Although I've not observed herons with readable bands copulating repeatedly, I did observe a small rookery in upstate NY in the 60s that had only six or seven pairs nesting there, and observed, over about a week, at least 15 instances of copulation among them. (Dawn and mid-afternoon observations) Do the math....
Dave Graham, Estelline, SD