On Nature: Observing the Puddle’s Great Blue Heron

A great blue heron’s hunting strategy is ruthless. With piercing yellow eyes slightly angled toward the group, it extends its long neck over the water and stills. Upon spotting prey, the heron moves with seemingly impossible speed, spearing or grasping its intended food before swallowing and stilling again. Watching a heron, it is easy to see how birds and dinosaurs are really one and the same. Standing at about four feet tall with wingspans of up to seven feet, great blue herons are North America’s largest predatory wading birds. Their most common prey are aquatic: fish, crayfish, insect larvae. But they can also eat small mammals and other birds. This year, Bates has been treated to a resident great blue heron. The bird was first reported on campus on Aug. 2 and has made a regular appearance at the Puddle since. Still a juvenile, the heron exhibits muted, gray coloration compared to the bold blues of a typical adult. It is pretty much the perfect spot for a heron.

This excerpt comes from the named source. Read the original for the full reporting.