With Moe becoming a "resident" heron around the place, I have been able to get to know him pretty well. When I am on the pier by myself (sans the dog and other people), Moe and I can "communicate" rather well. As soon as he sees me on the pier, he flies in from parts unknown. Then he follows in my footsteps as I throw the net to catch his breakfast or supper. Whereas a distance of ten feet or so used to be the norm, he now runs right up to grab my offerings. This "up close and personal" bit has given me a bit of a chance to learn more about herons and their antics. I try to compare my observations with those of different birding groups but noticed that a lot of curious things go unmentioned.
One thing that my friend asked about the other day, is Moe's habit of flipping fish before swallowing. This, I knew from experience of watching other shorebirds. Flipping a fish around in his beak allows Moe to swallow the fish head first. Doing this ensures that the sharp fins will not stab his throat as the fish slides down. Fins of a fish relax back towards the tail. Had Moe swallowed tail first, those fins would stab him and possibly cause major injuries. This trick is passed on from the parent birds to their offspring.
While every reading provides me with the line "their sharp, dagger-like beak with its serrated edges" not one has mentioned the long tongue that flicks out after the bird has downed a fish. After each menhaden or mullet, the bird literally "licks" his lips! I understand that this is more to clean the beak and not to grasp every taste that might linger but it is a rather curious behavior. This goes hand in hand with another cleaning technique the bird uses. After swallowing a fish, Moe always scrapes the sides of his beak on a pier post or plank. I have yet to figure out just why he does this other than to make sure those serrated edges stay free from any morsels that stick...sort of like flossing teeth. Moe has good oral hygiene!
Since we are discussing Moe's curious mannerisms, there is one last thing that tickles me. We have all heard how dogs cock their heads to one side when trying to decipher what we are saying. Moe does the same! Whenever I speak to him, he will lean to one side and eye me questioningly. So far, he has not shown that he understands one word but I ponder if that will come with time. Will Moe learn that "Eat" means that the minnows are for him? Or that "Mine" means I want to use them for bait? If he hangs around long enough, perhaps...just perhaps he will.
The Flasher of the Bayou is called this for a simple reason. The pose it has resembles what has been referred to as a flasher all these years. For those in the dark about this, Wikipedia (and most other dictionaries) defines the term as "a person who displays his/her body in a form of indecent exposure". Well, the Flasher of the Bayou is not a person nor is he/she doing anything indecent. It is just a term applied to a certain habit of some of the larger birds. The Flasher of the Bayou happens to be a Great Blue Heron.
If you watch critters as much as I do, you often can observe unusual actions. Most of these have a logical explanation behind them. Take the Flasher, for instance. The heron spreads its wings and sort of lets them droop down to its sides. This action makes the bird resemble the action of a person wearing a large overcoat that is held open in the front. The bird is usually facing the sun when doing this which should give a hint behind the action. With the sun beaming down upon the breast of the bird, not only can the bird warm itself but the sunlight kills any mites that are creepy-crawling around between the feathers.
On the other side of my brother's pier, I noticed several Great Blue Herons performing the same ritual high in the pine trees. The morning sun was just getting quite bright (and actually a bit toasty) when each bird opened its wings and let them sag. It was quite comical to see the three birds doing this in unison. Being the only one on the pier at the time, I suppose that I was being "flashed" by all three! Oh, my....the birds of the Bayou need to start behaving themselves! (Just so you will know, this is the actual term applied by birders to the strange behavior of the herons.)
