Guest Blog - Great White Heron

My friend Ron Romano has been birding the Florida Keys and found a species - rather a sub-species - that's pretty rare. Here's my "guest blogger's" report!!

Great White Heron (photo credit: Ron Romano)

Herons and egrets can be found throughout the United States wading in marshes or along shorelines (both fresh and saltwater) for fish and frogs, but may be seen in fields and developed areas as well. The two largest species are the Great Blue Heron and the Great Egret, both standing 3 to 4 feet tall. The Great Blue Heron is typically grayish-blue with a dull yellow bill and a distinctive black stripe extending over the eye, while the Great Egret is pure white, with a bright yellow bill and jet black legs and feet. 

Great Blue Heron (photo credit: JoAnne Russo)

I'm currently birding in the Florida Keys, where a rare all-white form of the Great Blue Heron is found. Formerly considered a separate species, it's now thought to be a sub-species of the Great Blue Heron, although some preliminary unpublished data suggests that it may even be a completely separate species. 

At first glance, the Great White Heron can easily be confused with the also-present egret, being all white with a yellow bill. But a closer look at the legs of these two birds found yesterday at Stock Island (near Key West) reveals the difference. Note the pale yellowish legs of the heron and the jet black legs of the egret.

 

Great Egret (photo credit: Ron Romano)

 

Regular blue forms of the Great Blue Heron are also found in the Florida Keys, and when a Great White Heron mates with the Great Blue, a hybrid called the Wurdemann's Heron results, the plumage of which is very pale gray and white.

Ron Romano reporting from Marathon Key, Florida.....

Northampton's Great Blue Heron Rookery

We visited friends in Northampton, Mass, had a great time and did some birding!

There's an amazing rookery at Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary where there's at least 50 great blue heron nests and we spotted one huge, but empty, bald eagle nest.

Many of the nests were occupied by adults feeding young! Both the male and female feed their offspring by regurgitating food........yum?

A cool fact - thanks to specially shaped neck vertebrae, great blue herons can curl their neck into an S shape for a more aerodynamic flight profile.

We found one nest with at least 2 babies who were probably half the size of their parents. They won't have adult plumage until they are two or three years old.

The eggs are incubated for almost a month and the chicks will fledge when they are about two months old.

These two chicks look like they're having a friendly conversation about the weather. It was pretty hot that day!

Another cool fact - great blue herons have specialized feathers on their chest that continually grow and fray. The herons comb this “powder down” with a fringed claw on their middle toes, using the down like a washcloth to remove fish slime and other oils from their feathers as they preen.

Despite their impressive size, great blue herons weigh only 5 to 6 pounds thanks in part to their hollow bones—a feature all birds share.

Snowy Owls Along the Coast

We decided to celebrate (more on this at the end) by going to the New Hampshire/Massachusetts coast in search of Snowy Owls! There's been a huge irruption of snowy owls all the way to North Carolina!! Check out this eBird map to see all the sightings. map of snowy owl sightings

first year snowy owl, probably female

Although we only saw 2 snowy owls, we were treated to lots of terrific waterfowl. Enjoy the photos.

male Common Eider

first winter male Common Eider with mature male

 male Surf Scoter

male White-winged Scoter

White-winged Scoters

Horned Grebe

Great Blue Heron

American Black Duck

We are finally back to regular blog postings!! Gerry was diagnosed with lymphoma in May. He spent a grueling summer and fall going through chemotherapy treatments and radiation. We a sooooo happy to say that he is now cancer free and we are looking forward to getting back to our normal life!!

Great Blue Heron

   At 4 feet tall with a 6 foot wingspan, the Great Blue is our largest North American heron. 

Great Blues have specialized feathers on their chest that continually grow and fray. They comb this “powder down” with a fringed claw on their middle toe, using the down like a washcloth to remove fish slime and other oils from their feathers as they preen.

This Great Blue seems to like the birdhouses at Allen's marsh in Westminster. We saw him atop this perch quite frequently. 

Although he looks like he might collapse the house, a Great Blue weighs only 5 to 6 pounds. 

Most times when you see them flying, the heron's neck is in an S-shape, this improves its aerodynamics.

Here's a good shot of him all stretched out.

You can really get an idea of the length of those wings in this picture!

Although he looks like a flasher, this behavior is simply called "sunning". It was late afternoon, the sun was setting and he's gathering the last warm rays. Springtime in Vermont!