Grace...and a lack of it.

“LOOK....it’s a Pterodactyl!!!” 

I cannot tell how many times and with how many kids I used that line. It never failed to get the kids to drop what they were doing and look skyward to see a Great Blue Heron gracefully floating over head.

For many of the kids I took to the field that was the closest they ever got to a Great Blue Heron.  Herons in general tend to keep their distance from humans. I have had rare instance within parks or preserves where individual birds had lost their fear of humans and allow people to approach them. Sometimes close enough for great photo opportunities. In Florida I noticed that Herons and Egrets would cozy up fairly close to fishermen along the waters edge to snarf up any discarded fish or bait.

Herons often know of your where location long before you know of theirs. They usually sneak away or silently take to the wing and gracefully float away.

Here on the Southern end of the Salish Sea Great Blue Herons do not inter act with humans very well.  On any given day I could take you out birding and we would see from five to twenty individual birds but rarely get within a hundred yards without being in a car or in thick cover.

 

Caught in the open on the middle of the dam this Heron had little choice but to freeze. I had a little cover and did not move, as time passed the Heron slowly walked back to it's side of the dam and slipped in to the cattails and disappeared.

Herons are a fairly “primitive” bird unchanged for millions of years. This primitive quality is what lead to me calling them “Pterodactyls” .   Early on in their time line they developed physical attributes that made them efficient and adaptable allowing them to feed on a variety of prey in a wide array of habitats.

This Heron has chosen a very dangerous place to roost. The salmon net was left behind during the previous run. Made from synthetic fibers it would take decades to breakdown unlike a net made from natural materials.  One day during low tide I saw a guy with a propane torch burning the net free from the stump. We talked briefly, he was an avid sport fisherman with nothing nice to say about the local tribe that had left the net behind. Who knows how many animals were saved this act.

 This beauty was bathing in the fresh water coming out of the Garrison Spring drain pipe.

The next three Heron photos were taken at the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge in March of 2010. It was early in the morning and s/he remained calm as three of us stood nearby taking photos. As we started to walk away it began to follow giving us the chance to all of the pictures you could ever want of a Great Blue Heron.
Still I want more!

Heavy Winter rains and high tides cause small islands of vegetation to float out into the Puget Sound. This Great Blue Heron either "drifted" off while as asleep or chose this isolated privet piece of real estate for a snooze.

..............................................................................................................................................

A few weeks ago I took the following series of pictures that I found humorous. I am sure the heron found nothing funny about it at all.

Here is the set up, the dam has a fish ladder on the far side where access is controlled by the State. At the end of the sixteen foot drop the ladder takes a ninety degree turn where it discharges into the saltwater side of the creek.  Herons often fight for control of this choice position. The turbulent waters conceal the salmon until they rise up to cross over the first step of the fish ladder where the herons wait to pick them off. When times are good (for the herons) as many a ten fish per hour can be picked off. When one heron is full or tired the next one in the established pecking order moves in to take it's turn and so on down the line. This goes on every day until the tide moves the water level to where fishing is not possible or they lose light sufficient to see the fish.

This heron is fishing on the incoming tide. Just a little too early!

After all of that s/he still managed to hold on to the fish. It hardly looks big enough for all of the effort and risk.

SO... if a tree falls in the forest and there is no one there to hear it, does does it make a sound?

Of course it does...silly human.

If a heron falls into the water and no one sees it, is the heron embarrassed?

I am not sure about that but I thought it sure was funny!
 ..........................................................................................................................