A friendly Great
Blue Heron has been visiting with us for the past few days. This morning, guests saw him on the swim raft with
his mouth open, hoping (they figured) for some leftovers from the nearby mother
loon who was feeding her young. This afternoon
the heron was in the creek by Birchview standing perfectly still in the water
waiting for a fish or frog.
We found out that the
Great Blue is the largest heron in North America. Although mostly gray-blue in colour, they have yellow eyes, greenish legs and a white
head. A black stripe marks each side of
its head and there are some shaggy black plumes that stick out from its back.
Females look like males but are smaller.
When flying, herons usually hold their neck in an “S” curve.
Although not that time
yet, despite last night’s dip to minus 3 degrees C (a definite eye opener!) - most of our herons will head south to Mexico or Cuba once the water begins to freeze.
Here's hoping that he stays just a little bit longer.....
