Wildlife Portrait - Great Blue Heron
Courtesy of our friends at Earth Share of Washington member People for Puget Sound
The term "Charismatic Megafauna" may have been coined specifically for this enchanting bird, the great blue heron. A fully-grown great blue heron is an impressive sight, standing four feet tall with a six-foot wingspan. In spite of its large size, an individual weighs only about 5 pounds because of its nifty flight adaption - hollow bones!
In the late 1800s, herons were hunted, almost to extinction, by poachers who collected their beautiful plumes for sale as decorations on fashionable hats. The founding of the Audubon Society can partly be credited as a response to this millinery threat to herons.
The distinctive profile of the great blue heron is easy to recognize in flight. Look for the S-shaped neck, the extended legs and the enormous, tapered yellow beak. When foraging for small fish, great blue herons stalk their prey silently, standing motionless for long periods of time, and often wading belly deep into shallow water. Herons clamp their prey with their bills like barbeque tongs, and seldom stab their food. They often swallow fish many times larger than their necks.
Elaborate courtship rituals accompany the herons' pair formation and nest building. Eligible males attract mates with a fascinating series of twig exchanges, stretch displays and bill clapping rituals. Herons breed in colonies, building enormous stick nests high in the trees, away from most predators. Since the process of building a new nest is so arduous, great blue herons try to repair and reuse old nests each year. The pair will build a new nest only if the old nest has been destroyed.
Heronries are generally located away from human activity, and are particularly sensitive to disturbance in the early part of the breeding season. Eagles and crows are quick to attack heron eggs and chicks when the adults are "flushed" away from the nest by noise and activity.
The majestic great blue heron is an important biological indicator of the health of Puget Sound. We can all do our part to protect the heron population by working to preserve natural shorelines, eelgrass beds, and healthy native trees along the water.
