That's One Tall Bird!

   It still surprises me to find that a lot of folks go about their everyday business fully unaware of what is around them.  A few days ago, someone who has lived on the Coast since birth, asked the name of a Great Blue Heron. Hmmm.  That is a very common bird and is hard to miss if it is anywhere near you.  The bird is huge!  One was standing in the midst of the marsh when we spotted it.  "What is that???", she asked.  Then she suddenly made a proclamation that she knew what it was...."A crane!"  Nope.  Not even close.  Although they are similar in appearance, a heron is not a crane.  I took a few minutes to explain what I knew about cranes...very little and herons...a good bit.  There are no cranes that call the Bayou home that I have ever seen.  My whole bit of knowledge of the differences could be summed up as...Cranes are larger and are highly social....herons are just the opposite in all aspects...smaller and are loners.  There you go....my vast knowledge of the difference between the birds.  Now ask me about herons in general and I can talk until the cows come home.  

  Back to our Great Blue Heron, though.  The bird was in the midst of the marsh and still stood with its head peering over the top.  Standing with its neck stretched high, the bird's height can be nigh on 4 1/2 feet.  If you ever get close to one, they seem much taller.  The ones that I hand-feed seem to be far taller than me.  With a wingspread of up to 6 1/2 feet, they are as impressive in flight as they are on land. Although the birds seem huge, they weigh less than 10 pounds.  These birds are stealth hunters as they will stand for hours waiting for a fish to venture within range or they will slowly wade hunting in the shallows.  At night, they will either "hunker down" on a small mound in the marsh, move to the pier or roost high in trees overlooking the water  Here on the Bayou, their favorite foods are menhaden, mullet, bull minnows, small blue crabs, fiddler crabs and insects that hide in the marsh.  They have been known to down a snake or two, take in a frog, slip down an eel,  devour a mouse or rice rat and even gulp baby birds if the nest is close to the marsh.  In reality, if it moves...it is fair game.  They prefer to be by themselves except during nesting season.  Then, they will gather in colonies and build a large nest platforms in trees near the water.  The female lays 2 to 6 eggs with both parents tending the little ones after hatching.  After the nesting is finished for the season, the birds go back to their solitary lives.    

  After giving my spiel about the Great Blue Heron, my visitor asked how I knew so much.  My answer was simple...I don't.  I merely observe what is around me.  So much can be learned if one will only actually "see" instead of merely looking.  Observe, question, learn.  Nature is fascinating.  But then, in all fairness, on the Bayou, I am in familiar surroundings.  Drop me in the midst of the city and I would be totally lost.  Love my Bayou!