Cattail Blues by Art LaMay

Cattail Blues (Great Blue Herons)

The great blue heron is long-legged and has a very sharp beak which helps them to catch aquatic animals. It's a very large bird physically, but not so much mentally. This bird stands 4 feet tall and has a wingspan of 6 feet. The great blue heron ranks as the largest of North American herons and egrets. The great blue heron has a blue body, a reddish-brown neck, and sometimes white or blue splotches near its eyes. It also has a black stripe that starts at its forehead and leads back into what looks like a snake's tongue. Great blue herons live near, and in, lakes, ponds and marshes. They are 38 inches in length and 70 inches in width. There are said to be 13 different species in North America.

The great blue heron is very clever when it comes to getting food. It stands in the middle of a lake, stream, or river, and waits motionless until its prey comes close enough to snatch with its dagger (beak). They spear fish with their sharp beak and swallow them whole. Its food supply consists of fish and frogs. They also eat turtles, frogs, snakes, crawfish, lizards, and rodents.

The great blue heron has some camouflage. Its grey-blue body and streaked white neck blend with its surroundings. If it stands quietly at the edge of the shore it may be very hard to see, which is how the great blue heron fools its enemies.

During the breeding season the great blue heron is at its most elegant, with long feathers on its back and short feathers on its neck that ruffle in the breeze.

They can be seen beside streams, ponds lakes, and road ditches throughout the state. Their nest is a crude platform of sticks in a bush or tree, usually in a colony with other herons. Along the coast, nests are found on gas wells in shallow bays. The lay 3 to 5 large blue eggs and they hatch in 28 days. It takes another 2 months before the young are ready to fly.

The great blue heron is a long-legged wading bird.
©Watson's Wildlife would like to thank the Texas Parks and Wildlife and www.cs.tufts.edu for their info.

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