There are a couple of adult great blue herons at my usual workplace, and they are extremely shy. As soon as one sees me approach with twenty meters, it takes off, croaking in a most desultory fashion (seriously, check out the embedded audio file at the Cornell Ornithology Labs website linked above- for such a beautiful bird, the blue heron makes some ugly, ugly sounds).
I spent some time conversing with an elderly woman while we watched the heron slowly stalk through the lake, then strike to catch a small fish. I felt privileged to be able to observe the bird at such close range, they are typically very, very wary. I don't know if the great blues suffered the population decline that the egrets did due to the feather trade, which would explain why they don't dig us primates. If only I could convince the worksite herons to overcome their wariness, I'd be ecstatic.
7 comments:
OMFSM in the foreground you have been fortunate enough to capture the very rare Pink Orb.
Also too No "Je n'egret rien" jokes? Where is the real BBBB and what have you done with him?!
They are very shy...except when on golf courses.
There they get used to people, and I've found you can get closer and take your time with the camera.
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Not at the Gulf. All you have to do is put a line in the water and a pole in a pole holder and one or two will alight within 10 feet and wait for you to throw them your 'too smalls' or some bait. I don't fish, but I've put some snaps on my blog of my encounters while running.
We have a large nesting site about 20 minutes up the road, but they are pretty shy. On the other hand, I can walk 10 minutes into a local marsh and if I sit still I will see them feeding.
Until a neighbor dismantled her disregarded, emerald green watered, goldfish filled above ground pool, I could watch them fishing THERE for 4" goldfish!
It always makes me smile to see them fly over crook-necked and leg dragging!
OMFSM in the foreground you have been fortunate enough to capture the very rare Pink Orb.
Bubble gum orbs are far from rare in the states!
Also too No "Je n'egret rien" jokes? Where is the real BBBB and what have you done with him?!
I'll leave the bird puns to a guy like yourself who can really tern a phrase.
They are very shy...except when on golf courses.
Golf balls look tasty to birds.
Not at the Gulf. All you have to do is put a line in the water and a pole in a pole holder and one or two will alight within 10 feet and wait for you to throw them your 'too smalls' or some bait.
The game warden doesn't take them in?
It always makes me smile to see them fly over crook-necked and leg dragging!
It is a sight- they have such an impressive wingspan too.
Where I was staying in Northern Illinois last week, there were resident herons wading in the shallows. Lovely birds!
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