Big Birds: The Great Blue Heron

Notice in the photo that some birds are standing in the top of the tree. Herons seem to always have a few sentinels guarding the nests while other birds are away hunting food. Not many predators would dare attack nests in a heronry. Those beaks are like spears. I have read that one veterinarian who was working with an injured Great Blue was killed when the bird suddenly stabbed him in the heart with its beak. Under normal conditions, Great Blues are not agressive to humans and will simply fly away if someone approaches.

Before 1900, all of the herons were hunted for their feathers and populations were decreasing rapidly. Since 1918, they have been protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Now, their greatest threats are loss of wetland habitat and the deterioration of water quality. Great Blues are near the top of the wetland food chain, and pesticides and herbicides that build up in the aquatic animals that they eat can cause reproductive failure in these birds.

I always feel a deep sense of mystery when I watch a Great Blue spread its wings and soar across the ponds. They are among the most primitive orders of birds on the North American continent and if you watch them for a while you really get that connection. One summer morning, I tried to put my feelings into words, and I wrote this poem.

Meditation on the Ponds

Someting ancient lives out there
In the water of the ponds,
In the clarity of air.

Down the wind a message sings
Through the meadowlark's pure call,
On the great blue heron's wings.

Watch in silence, woman-child.
Listen closely for the sound
Of something ancient, something wild.

References: This Nature-Wildlife Great Blue Heron Page provides facts and a fine collection of photos from Chicoteague National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia.

For more details about Great Blue Herons, see this U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service website.

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