Join Nature Notes from Mondays at 11:00 pm EST  to Friday at 11:00 pm EST.

More information can be found at the top of the blog on a separate page, but it really is easy. What are you or have you seen and enjoyed in nature? It can be from your own backyard, the local park, out on a hike, or anywhere. What plants and animals catch your interest? Do you garden? Have you read a good book on nature? 

Write a blog post with a photo, a story, a poem, anything goes because I love to see what Mother Nature is up to in your area. Please submit one blog post per week and link it back to Nature Notes in some way..

LAST WEEK’S BLOGGER LINKS-What are you seeing in nature? It can be from your own backyard, the local park, out on a hike, or anywhere. What plants and animals catch your interest? What do you find interesting in nature? Take a photo, write a post, a story, a poem, anything goes because I love to see what Mother Nature is up to in your area. ——

I am behind in my visits. I needed to just rest and relax. We had some summer-like temperatures which allowed me to sit on the deck and watch the pond, the ducks and the remaining fall color. I needed that and I feel some sense of refreshment if I totally ignore the pandemic.. Oh 2020…what year….

I was surprised to learn that great blue herons will stay in this area as long as there are open waters for fishing. I remember the first time I saw one flying overheard over 15 years ago with it’s kind of croaky bark call, I was thinking there were still dinosaurs. And really, there are.

Their legs are back and the wingspan is large and it honestly looks prehistoric in flight….

Great Blue Heron Taking Off

BASIC DESCRIPTION

Whether poised at a river bend or cruising the coastline with slow, deep wingbeats, the Great Blue Heron is a majestic sight. This stately heron with its subtle blue-gray plumage often stands motionless as it scans for prey or wades belly deep with long, deliberate steps. They may move slowly, but Great Blue Herons can strike like lightning to grab a fish or snap up a gopher. In flight, look for this widespread heron’s tucked-in neck and long legs trailing out behind.

• Despite their impressive size, Great Blue Herons weigh only 5 to 6 pounds thanks in part to their hollow bones—a feature all birds share.

I can attest to this because my husband had to rescue a heron that was caught in fishing line on the pond. He was able to get it in a sheet and we held it till the rehabber came and got it. It was able to be released unharmed. My husband went out and cut the rest of the line and cuts any fishing line that we come across.

Migration

Partial migrant. Great Blue Herons generally move away from the northern edge of their breeding range in winter, with some flying as far south as the Caribbean. Populations in the Pacific Northwest and south Florida are present year-round.

We are between the two Great Lakes on the edge of purple and orange….

• Great Blue Herons in the northeastern U.S. and southern Canada have benefited from the recovery of beaver populations, which have created a patchwork of swamps and meadows well-suited to foraging and nesting.

And they perch in trees and nest in trees in these huge nests when many nesting together in a rookery

FOOD

• Great Blue Herons eat nearly anything within striking distance, including fish, amphibians, reptiles, small mammals, insects, and other birds. They grab smaller prey in their strong mandibles or use their dagger-like bills to impale larger fish, often shaking them to break or relax the sharp spines before gulping them down.

Here on the pond the ducks and geese will scream and get their ducklings or goslings away into the water as the heron could take one. I have not seen that happen thankfully.

 

great blue heron and mallard ducks

Have a wonderful week and stay safe…

Join Nature Notes from Mondays at 11:00 pm EST  to Friday at 11:00 pm EST.

More information can be found at the top of the blog on a separate page, but it really is easy. What are you or have you seen and enjoyed in nature? It can be from your own backyard, the local park, out on a hike or anywhere. What plants and animals catch your interest? Do you garden? Have you read a good book on nature? 

Write a blog post with a photo, a story, a poem, anything goes because I love to see what Mother Nature is up to in your area. Please submit one blog post per week and link back to Nature Notes in some way.

Below is last week’s Nature Notes’ blogger thumbnail photos in a collage. If you photos are protected and/or you don’t want me to use them, please let know. Also listed are all the links to last week’s Nature Notes blog posts if you missed any.

It is still colder and more wet than usual, but spring moves forward. It is a comfort when there is so much of the unknown that you can count on nature moving toward summer. We in Erie County, New York have too many COVID19 cases and deaths so there won’t be opening up anytime soon. Stay healthy my friends.

I am still seeing the migrants coming back to the area. I have two hummingbird feeders up but I haven’t seen one yet.

A great-blue heron fishes the pond every single day.

great blue heron

These birds are tall but only weigh about 5-6 pounds. We had to rescue one from the pond who was tangled up in the fishing line and I was shocked by how light it was. By the way. You need really good eye protection because these birds can strike with lightning-fast jabs with that long bill.

Below- (mute the music) A Great Blue Heron hunting and catching a fish at The Pond, December 7, 2018, Central Park, New York City. “Great Blue Herons forage, usually alone, across much of the U.S. This largest of the North American herons wades slowly or stands stock still, peering into the water for prey.” The Cornell Lab of Ornithology

*****

Below- Extreme cuteness – extremely closeup – these recently hatched Great Blue Heron chicks are irresistible! With hardly any feathers the parents must shield them from the sun on an 88 degree day in Florida in late March. Later in the video both parents feed the chick. Can there be any doubt birds are the living ancestors of flying dinosaurs?

*****

Have you ever seen groups of huge nests made of large sticks weighing down tall treetops? These colonies of nests are called “rookeries” and they are the spring nesting place of the sleek and beautiful great blue heron. Rookeries can have as many as 135 nests in them. This is the heron’s way of being sure there’s always a bird keeping watch to protect the group against predators like raccoons.

Great Blue Heron Rookery

What are you seeing in nature? It can be from your own backyard, the local park, out on a hike or anywhere. What plants and animals catch your interest? What do you find interesting in nature? Take a photo, write a post, a story, a poem, anything goes because I love to see what Mother Nature is up to in your area. PS..please check back and visit bloggers who post later in the week!

Have a wonderful week from Michelle