All Creatures Great and Small


Blue Herons are beautiful creatures.

Thanks to our ponds we have an abundance of waterfowl that visit us on a daily basis, and since living here we have had the privilege of seeing more Blue Herons than most people will ever see in a lifetime.

Things that I have learned about the Blue Heron:

Blue Herons are large birds. I'm talking HUGE. When they are full grown, they can reach 4 1/2 feet tall and have a wingspan of 6 feet 6 inches - that's as tall as Pookie!

Blue Herons have long, sharp bills which have been described as both 'impressive dagger-like', and 'sharp blade-like'.

Blue Herons are very patient. They stand very quietly at the edge of our pond, almost blending in with the grass and bank, just waiting for the perfect opportunity, the perfect snack, to swim by. Then, in a flash, they strike with that long, sharp bill and voila! Supper. Then they slowly, slowly, move a few feet down to their next fishing spot. This activity can last for hours.

I have seen Blue Herons at our front pond just before dawn, so herons are early risers too. There is something almost unearthly about seeing a Great Blue standing quietly there in the mist, just as the sun is trying to sneak up on the East'ard side of the Island. Always gives me goosebumps.

This morning I discovered that Blue Herons can also be vicious.

I had been over to the coop to let the chickens out. I had gathered their waterers and was over by the hose filling them, when I heard a racket coming from across the pond. I looked over and saw two herons, one on top of the other. I initially thought, "Well, hey! It's almost Spring". Then I saw the larger one, which was on the back of the smaller one, draw back that terrible, great bill and strike the much smaller one in the head. I immediately dropped the hose and ran around the pond waving my arms and screaming like a wild woman. I think I yelled "Hey! Stop it!" or some other useless phrase that I'm sure the heron could have given two shits less about. Anyway, I guess the combination of my yelling/arm waving/morning bed-head hair was enough to scare him and he stopped his attack and flew away. The smaller heron was obviously hurt and unable to stand. I went inside and got Pookie, and a blanket, and we walked back over to where it lay. After much discussion, we decided that maybe it was stunned and would recover in a bit. I would keep check on it, and if it didn't come around, I would call the wildlife center and carry it over to them, bundled up in a blanket in the back of the Jeep.

I am sad to write, that less than 30 minutes after the attack, it passed away.

Meanwhile, the ducks are off the hook with their obsession of furthering the flock, the trees are just starting to show buds, my Hillbilly Tomato seeds should be arriving by mail any day now, and I saw daffodils blooming in a yard on my way home from work yesterday. Spring is indeed in the air...and I have a Blue Heron to bury.


~Sue Sue