"BIG BLUE"

Great Blue Heron - 8 Photos

Great Blue Herons can be as tall as one metre with their necks outstretched so it's somewhat amusing to see them harassed, terrorized & even bullied by Red-Winged Blackbirds (Photo #6)  - yes, that's a black bird sitting on the back of the heron who is trying to hide in the rushes. And not only is it from the air but from "sea" as well, i.e. the local pond dweller, the Muskrat.

In fact, this past weekend I was witness to Muskrat/Great Blue Heron encounter. The heron was hugging the pond shoreline where I was sitting, unfortunately for me partly obscured by marsh grasses & reeds. So I thought I would wait it out and hopefully the heron would make its way around & out for a great close-up shot. And then the large male muskrat showed up on its regular patrol.

It was heading across the pond when it saw the heron standing close to where the muskrats have a small bank den. It immediately made a detour & beelined straight to the heron. It moved in close to the heron, turned its back towards the heron & gave one mighty slap with its tail. Needless to say, the heron flew off from a standing position to parts unknown. Really Heron? What's the muskrat going to do? Bite your toes! :)

But here are some photos of a more relaxed heron, stalking out fish & occasionally catching a meal. And then there is always the resulting shake-out of feathers after a quick head splash (Photo #1). 

PHOTO #1

PHOTO #2

PHOTO #3

PHOTO #4

PHOTO #5

PHOTO #6

PHOTO #7

PHOTO #8