Heron in the Yard

As pretty as you please, this Great Blue Heron strolled through my front yard. Yep, there are ponds all around me, but I felt quite honored! Lucky I have a camera or ten.


The scientific name of the great blue heron is Ardea herodias and is the most common and largest of North American herons. They are waders, typically seen along coastlines, in marshes, or near the shores of ponds or streams. Expert fishers, they snare their prey by walking slowly, or standing still for long periods of time and waiting for fish to come within range of their long necks and blade-like bills. They deliver a deathblow with that sharp beak and swallow the fish whole, though they've been known to choke to death by attempting to swallow fish too large.
To me, it's a thrill to see a great blue in flight (which this one was in short order). Rather awkward and stiff when walking, their flight is graceful. They have huge wingspans (5.5 to 6.6 feet) and are 3.2 to 4.5 feet tall. They can cruise at some 20 to 30 miles an hour.


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