It didn’t take long for our Great Blue Heron (GBH) to roust out our visiting Great Egret. The heron had been absent for most of the day. Upon returning in the evening he circled the Wetlands once, spotted the intruder and made a direct assault on the unsuspecting egret. The GBH came in and landed within six feet of the egret, who, thinking everything was on the up-and-up, kept right on fishing the way it had been before the GBH droppedRead more
Posts tagged: #gbh
Coping with the heat?
If you’re wondering how the wildlife is coping with this 100+ weather, here’s how our GBH is behaving. I’ve seen Great Blue Herons in this pose before, but I always thought it was a way of gaining heat, not cooling oneself off. I think, however, it also serves to help straighten curled feathers, but still a strange behavior in this heat. The bird was facing the sun so it seems the wings would to act as a parabolic reflector. If that strange posture wasn’tRead more
The Big Gray Bird Nesting on the Island!
If you happen to be walking down the boardwalk into the Wetlands and see a large gray bird sitting on what looks like a nest… look closely at the bird. The bird is a Great Blue Heron, and it’s resting, not nesting. The resident heron sometimes retires to the island to rest during the day. It does most of its hunting for fish, tadpoles, frogs, and crayfish within the cover of the willows on the north side of the Wetlands,Read more