The Travels of Tug 44


Great Blue Heron






Great Blue Herons are large birds, with a spectacular 6+ foot wingspan. This one is sitting in a swamp on a grass hummock with his neck folded up, ready for a nap.   high-res



This Great Blue Heron is ice fishing here in Fort Edward in late March. We have brutal winters with the temperature dropping to 35 degrees below zero, so they are mostly gone by the end of December, but they are the first bird to return in spring.   high-res



Usually they are seen wading in the water, but I caught this one up in a tree. Likely she's done fishing for the day and will now preen her feathers and then get a good night's sleep up there.   high-res



On hot summer days with 90+ degree temperatures, they will often sit there with their wings drooping away from their body to help cool down.   high-res



Here we have a Great Blue Heron fishing. They stand on a log or wade in shallow water, watching for movement of any fish. The neck is coiled up ready to strike like a snake. In this location, the water is covered with duck weed, but if a fish brushes up against the tiny plant roots, the Heron will detect it and strike.   high-res



This Great Blue Heron just caught his lunch, a nice fat sunfish. They strike so fast that they often impale the larger fish, as seen here.   high-res



This Heron just caught a foot long Bullhead Catfish. It is amazing how large a fish they can swallow. They will sometimes also stalk mice and voles on land and swallow those easily.   high-res



Another Great Blue Heron has caught a sunfish, they seem to particularly like this type of fish. Notice there is a string of seaweed draped over his head, they don't care about that and will shake it off after they eat.   high-res



After flapping a few times, she glides gracefully down the old canal bed, just a few feet above the water.   high-res



... and lands behind some weeds. The Great Blue Heron, is one of the most majestic birds, and is frequently seen in Fort Edward and on the New York Canals.   high-res



This is a Great Blue Heron chick, only some months old. She is fully self-sufficient and is on her own. Right this moment, she is in the middle of a nice chin scratch. The crest on her head is always raised when they do that.   high-res



Great Blue Heron chicks have brown edging on their wing feathers, and they lack the feather tassels that hang down the chest which only the adults have. They also have a pattern on the back of their necks.   high-res



After some torrential rains, the swamps are now flooded and too deep for wading, so the Herons switch to hunting small rodents by the side of the road. This one has caught a nice fat Vole.   high-res



After eating the Vole by swallowing it whole, she then proudly struts her stuff across the road.   high-res

The Great Blue Heron, an elegant fishing bird




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