Great Blue Heron
The Great Blue Heron is the largest North American heron, with a head-to-tail length of 91–137 cm (36-54 in), a wingspan of 180 cm (71 in), and a weight of 2.2–3.6 kg (4.8-8 lbs). It is blue-gray overall, with black flight feathers, red-brown thighs, and a paired red-brown and black stripe up the flanks. is found throughout most of North America. The range extends south through Florida, Mexico and the Carribean to South America. Great Blue Herons can be found in a range of habitats, in fresh and saltwater marshes, mangrove swamps, flooded meadows, lake edges, or shorelines, but they always live near bodies of water. Generally, they nest in trees or bushes near a body of water.
The primary food for Great Blue Heron is small fish, though they are also known to eat shellfish, insects, rodents, amphibians, reptiles and small birds. It is generally a solitary feeder. Great Blue Herons are able to feed in deeper waters, and thus are able to exploit a niche not open to most other heron species. It feeds in shallow water or at the water’s edge during both the night and the day, but especially around dawn and dusk. Herons locate their food by sight and generally swallow it whole. It uses its long legs to wade through shallow water, and spears fish or frogs with its long, sharp bill. This is a defining charactaristic of the Blue Heron, that it waits for the fish to swim up close and then strikes out lightening fast to spear it.
This species usually breeds in colonies called ‘heronries’ ranging between 5-500 nests per heronry. Great Blue Herons build a bulky stick nest, and the female lays three to six pale blue eggs . One brood is raised each year. If the nest is abandoned or destroyed, the female may lay a replacement clutch. Reproduction is negatively affected by human disturbance, particularly during the beginning of nesting. Repeated human intrusion into nesting areas often results in nest failure, with abandonment of eggs or chicks. Both parents feed the young at the nest by regurgitating food.
Birds east of the Rockies in the northern part of their range are migratory and winter in Central America or northern South America . From the southern US southwards, and on the Pacific coast, they are year-round residents. However their hardiness is such that individuals often remain through cold northern winters, as well.
People who have the Great Blue Heron as a Power Animal may experience:
very calm exterior behaviour
extreme focus/goal orientation
the desire to share parenting equally with his/her partner
reclusiveness
healthy skepticism
quiet intensity
the need to work alone
resistance to being rushed
hyper-acute sense of timing.
Source:http://www.dancingotter.ca/?page_id=304
Captired by: Xergs
Location: Opol aviary, Opol Misamis oriental
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