A heron rookery reminds that nesting season is beginning

This Delaware Wildlands postcard from the 1950s shows a New Castle County heron rookery on land that the private conservation organization was hoping to acquire for preservation. The rookery, where young herons learn to fly and fend for themselves, is a reminder that nesting season has begun in Delaware. Bald eagles are mating and warming their aerie homes for new eggs, herons are transitioning from solitary to colonial to propagate their species, and early ospreys are already arriving from the south in this mild winter as they scout for new nests or stake claims on old nesting sites.