Great Blue Herons seen often in the Piney Woods By Jay V. Huner |
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I was fishing on my pier on Cotile Lake in mid-spring near dark. I had forgotten the turtle I had left on the pier. One of our cats was lurking between the turtle and me. All of sudden, the turtle made a break for it, clattering down the pier toward the cat and me. The cat squalled and bolted toward shore. Then, I heard a squawk and wing-flapping sounds coming from the shore and looked up to see a huge Great Blue Heron frantically flying over my shoulder out over the lake. Great Blue Herons are the largest and most common herons found in our piney woods and across North America. They will feed on the darkest of nights and brightest of days so you can find them almost anywhere from backyard fish pools in cities where they steal goldfish and koi carp to the smallest of creeks in the middle of the piney woods catching almost anything that moves. Their thrashing wings and loud, garish squawks can cause folks fishing at night some heart stopping moments. Great Blue Herons are handsome birds that stand over 3 feet tall and have wing spans of 4-6 feet. From a distance they are a gray color. Closer inspection reveals white crown stripes, black head plumes, reddish or gray necks, and blue-gray backs, wings, and bellies. Laymen often refer to Great Blue Herons as cranes but they only superficially resemble our common Sandhill Cranes and rare Whooping Cranes. They are so large that they are capable of catching and swallowing fish as large as a pound including spiny finned catfish. However, they are generalists when it comes to choice of foods. One researcher found over pound of small mosquitofish (about 450 fish) in a heron. Another researcher found the herons foraging in harvested grain fields in British Columbia where they were eating rats in winter! Great Blue Herons nest in the February-April period in our region, often in rookeries with egrets, herons, ibises, and spoonbills. But, they rarely nest in large numbers. I did, however, once see a rookery with over 100 nests on a small island in Cross Lake near Shreveport, Louisiana. A Great Blue Heron lays 2-6 eggs in rickety looking nests constructed from branches. The young birds grow fast and are ready to fly away within a couple of months. Parents swallow food to carry it to their nestlings. The nestlings will stroke their parents' beaks, heads and necks to get them to literally throw up the contents of their crops into their throats. Great Blue Herons sometime panhandle for food around fishing piers. That is, they learn that they are safe and wait for visitors to toss unwanted fish, fish parts, bait, and lunch items to them. But, be wary around such large birds. The beaks can generate nasty wounds if a bird is frightened and you are in the way. Jay V. Huner |
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