A
stately bird, the Great Blue Heron stands to a height
of 52" with a wingspan of 70".
When
hunting, Great Blues space themselves a good distance from
each other, but will tolerate the presence of a few smaller
birds like the Ibis and the Little Blue Heron.
The Great
Blues' coloring blends beautifully into this
winter background of Willow and Myrtle branches.
A Great
Blue fishes from the muddy bank of the river.
Fish
and frogs are the Great Blues' principal food, but this large
bird also eats small mammals, reptiles, and sometimes other
birds.
This
bird is capable of catching a fish twice as wide as his neck,
tossing it up in the air and swallowing it headfirst.
Great Blue
Herons fly with their necks folded - Sandhill Cranes
and Roseate Spoonbills fly with their necks extended.
Look at the wing span on this guy!
I used to keep
a small houseboat at Sweetwater
Resort - a now defunct fish camp. There was a problem
once.... fish were disappearing from the bait tank
every night. The bait tank was a fairly large cement
structure outside, by the canal. At first we thought
that some fisherman must be sneaking up at night and
stealing bait. Day after day they would restock the
tank, but every morning the fish would be gone.
I'm
sure you can see where this is going! After sitting up
all night with a shotgun, the owner discovered his thief
- you guessed it - a Great Blue Heron. The bird was coming
in early every morning, standing on the edge of the tank,
and just helping himself!
I used to keep
a small houseboat at 
