Waiting To Strike

Photograph of a Green Heron on a log waiting to strike at a fish by Doug Couvillion

Great Blue Herons seem to get all the attention.  Probably because they are so large and conspicuous.  Green Heron’s are not nearly as easy to spot and I would guess most non-birders probably couldn’t identify them on sight.

Once you see a Green Heron you’ll fully appreciate the greatness of the Great Blue Heron.  Greens are much smaller, about the size of a crow.  Like their larger cousins they are also pretty untrusting and can be fairly hard to approach.

If you’re thinking “That heron looks brown, not green.” you’re not entirely wrong.  The one pictured above is a juvenile.  Like many other bird species the young aren’t quite as colorful as the adults.  As this one matures the dark feathers on its head and its wings will turn more green and its breast and neck will turn a darker chestnut brown.

This year I’ve been encountering lots of Green Herons.  This juvenile and another were on the opposite ends of a log when I spotted them.  This one was focused on whatever it saw in the water while the other was busy investigating things above the surface.

Like most of my posts, you can click on the image to see a larger version of it.  You can see the Green Heron in much more detail that way.

Here’s to a day full of wonder and discovery!

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