The Great Blue Heron is the largest of the North American herons, so it’s no surprise that when you see one in the air with its slow, deep wingbeats, it’s like watching a pterodactyl flying out of a primordial swamp. Or you can stumble upon one standing stock still at pond’s edge, staring into the water for minutes on end, waiting for prey to swim by. And what a fierce hunter this bird is—primarily a fresh and saltwater fish eater, it’s been known to take almost anything in reach of its very large dagger-like bill, on land as well. Nocturnal animals aren’t safe either as these herons have excellent night vision and can quickly strike prey at a distance thanks to specially shaped neck vertebrae. Great Blue Herons also have specialized “powder down” feathers on their chest that, when combed with a fringed claw on their middle toes, helps to remove fish slime and other oils from their feathers as they preen.
The Great Blue Heron is one of the most widespread and adaptable wading birds in North America, inhabiting coastlines, marshes, flooded fields, lakes, and urban parks with water. Hunted heavily for its plumes in the past, many populations have recovered well despite an overall loss of wetland habitat. They nest mostly in colonies of up to several hundred pairs, often locating their bulky stick nests high in large trees on small islands (check the island at Columbus Park). A colony is a good place to observe their elaborate courtship and pair-bonding displays that include ritualized greetings, stick transfers, stretch displays, bill clappering, circle flights, nest relief ceremonies, and many more.
The familiar Great Blue Heron is an overall blue-gray bird, but there is an all white form found on the coast of southern Florida, the Yucatan Peninsula, and the Caribbean known as the “great white heron.” Where the two subspecies overlap, hybrids known as “Wurdemann’s herons” occur that have the body of a Great Blue Heron, but the white head and neck of the great white heron.
Image by Greg Lavaty
