WILDLIFE WATCH: Great Blue Heron

GREAT BLUE HERON. © COPYRIGHT GIVEN PHOTOGRAPHY 2020

“A six-pound heron can swallow a one-pound fish. That’s like a one-hundred pound person swallowing a seventeen-pound fish. Whole.”

—What it’s Like to be a Bird, by David Allen Sibley

We smelled them before we saw them. A distinct unpleasant odor that was a bit like rotten food with sewage thrown in. As we rounded the corner a racket of squawking filled the trees above us. We quickly scanned the tall trees with our binoculars searching for the source of the noise.

I was with my daughter, Tiffany and we were looking for one of our favorite birds to watch in the spring. Great blue heron chicks. We were not disappointed. We could see at least six nests with chicks of varying sizes and numbers. Most nests seemed to have two to three chicks. Their downy bodies were perched in the nests in all kinds of configurations. Standing, squatting and lying as they jockeyed for position in the tight quarters with their siblings.

It was a noisy, messy, busy colony of nests. We couldn’t tell how many nests, but last year Heron Habitat Helpers counted 33 active nests. The ground beneath was covered with a white film from all of their splays of bird poop. The chicks were constantly squawking, begging for food as their parents fed them regurgitated fish.

Also, we saw bigger birds on nearby branches which may have been older siblings. Herons typically lay two to seven eggs that hatch at different times. By the time chicks are two weeks old they move from nests to perch on branches.

Springtime is when great blue herons gather in colonies to nest and it’s usually near water. During the rest of the year they travel solo. You can easily spot their tall forms with slender s-shaped necks slowly wading in shallow marshes, lakes, or wetlands as they stalk aquatic prey. Maybe, with a stroke of luck, you might get to see them eat something other than fish. An unforgettable sight.

Luck was with us one gorgeous fall day a few years back while in Yellowstone National Park. We heard stories from fellow photographers about a great blue heron nicknamed “Killer.” I was with my partner, Curt who was photographing wildlife. Sure enough we found “killer.” The bird had a voracious appetite for voles. It was stalking this mouse-like creature in a small creek near a wetland area. Day after day you could visit the creek, see a couple dozen or more photographers with their long lenses focused on “Killer,” as the heron patiently waited for its next victim. Once Killer caught a vole between its very long sharp beak, it swallowed it head first, whole. This was such a popular shot among those die-hard professional photographers that Ranger Rick editors sent out a request telling the photographers to please stop submitting photos of “Killer.”

Back to earlier this week when Tiffany and I visited the heron rookery…we left happy, thrilled to get such great sightings of these amazing birds with their adorable chicks, and even more thrilled that we are fortunate enough to live in such a beautiful part of our world!

P.S. The smell was worth it!

Great Blue Heron ChickS in Nest. © NIK CHRISTOFFERSON 2020

Great Blue Heron foraging for fish © GIVEN PHOTOGRAPHY 2020