A Closer Look at One of Nature’s Most Remarkable Birds
Meet the Great Blue Heron, a bird whose presence never fails to inspire awe and curiosity. Towering above the wetlands with its elegant stature and distinctive features, this bird is a true icon of the waterways. Often spotted gracefully wading through shallow waters or soaring overhead with its impressive wingspan, the Great Blue Heron is both majestic and fascinating.
The following is the script from our friend the Great Blue Heron who visited Ghostly Glades in 2022 and written by Val Frankoski.
Well, hello! Bet you didn’t expect to see me so far from the water! I am the GREAT Blue Heron…emphasis on the GREAT, please! What do YOU think? Have you ever seen such a big gorgeous, spear-billed, long-graceful-necked wading dinosaur? Yes, I said dinosaur! My ancestors were around 25 million years ago and scientists have collected fossils almost 2 million years old!
And look at these incredible long legs! I can wade in the water and hardly get wet! When I fly they trail out behind me, but I still keep my long neck in an S-shape. (Seriously, that’s the only letter of the alphabet I know – an inside heron joke.) They call me MAJESTIC…a real beauty…and I have a 6’ wingspan!
- How about this stylish navy-blue Mohawk with the white crown, I can lift up…guys all find it irresistible! Even so, I fly solo most of the year. Yeah, yeah…My partner does choose a nesting spot, help build the nest and raise the kiddos…but then I’m off and it’s every bird for herself.
- Notice these patches of unique, shaggy, chest and belly feathers? They keep growing, just like your hair, not like other feathers that fall out and are replaced. I call it my ‘feather duster.’ Scientists call it powder down. I can bite pieces off, chew it a bit, and spread the powder over my feathers. I have a special claw on my middle toe to spread that powder down all over my underparts to clean, waterproof, and protect from all that fish slime and swampy water. Keeps me looking exquisite!
I like to stay around Wildcat Glades and Shoal Creek all year, although some of the girls and dudes migrate farther south. What I am doing here, away from the creek, you ask? Well, same as ALWAYS…looking for a bite to eat! USUALLY, I stand very still in shallow water and wait patiently for fish to come to me…the bigger the better I always say! Then I throw my head and neck forward at lightning speed, but oh so gracefully, and grab lunch with these fantastic spear-like jaws…I call it my killer “Bill Stab.” I make catching fish look easy! You’d get whiplash trying that kind of maneuver!
