Photo Study Of Some Great Blue Herons

This summer, I have seen lots of Great Blue Herons. Most of these photos were taken at Peace Valley Park in New Britain, PA. Some of them, however, were taken elsewhere as noted. There really seemed to be a bumper crop of Great Blues this year. The Great Blue Heron is our largest heron (46 inches tall with a wingspan of over 6 feet and only weighs about six pounds!) It is found throughout North America. We know there have been breeding colonies near Peace Valley in Quakertown and as well as in the vicinity of Lake Nockamixon. This bird stalks its prey in the shallows of lakes and ponds and roosts in trees near water. I have seen it catch and eat fish, frogs and even  dragonflies.

      
Great Blue Heron Roosts At Bombay Hook NWR 

    
                  Juvenile Great Blue Heron Catches A Fish At Bombay Hook NWR

        
 Great Blue Heron Profile At Peace Valley Park

     
              Great Blue Heron In Breeding Plumage At E.B. Forsythe NWR (Brigantine) 

          
 Great Blue Heron Flies At Peace Valley Park   

   
    Great Blue Heron Hunts At E. B. Forsythe NWR (Brigantine)

 
Great Blue Heron Flies At E. B. Forsythe NWR (Brigantine)

The Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) is one of the most widespread and adaptable wading birds in North America. Up to seven subspecies have been recognized by past researchers, based on differences in size and plumage color, but a single subspecies (herodias) probably suffices for most of the continent, except for Florida’s Great White Heron (occidentalis), the subspecies most distinctive in color (entirely white.) Equally at home in coastal (marine) environments and in fresh water habitats, the Great Blue Heron has weathered the impacts of 20th century North Americans quite successfully, although its breeding colonies remain vulnerable to disturbance.(From Cornell BNA and The Sibley Guide To Birds.)

Please click on  either the thumbnails or the captions to see a larger image...thanks!

 © Howard B. Eskin 2009                    Please click here to email suggestions or comments to hbeskin@voicenet.com                                                  Please click here to go back to Bird Webpage Index