Wild Bird Of Indiana - Great Blue Heron © 2006

Great Blue Heron

Ardea herodias
Family - Ardeidae

The Great Blue Heron is the largest heron in North America, indeed, one of the largest birds in North America. It is one of southern Indiana’s most impressive birds. Not a common bird in most people’s garden, it is a fairly common sight near ours because of the nearby pond and the fact that this is a rural area with Laughery Creek nearby which is a haven for these majestic birds.

On canoe trips on nearby Versailles Lake we have observed many of these birds at one time, wading in the shallow waters hunting for food. They fly off before we can approach very close. Few things in nature are quite as impressive as a Great Blue Heron winging over the water as it takes off, or even better, lands with a splash.

These birds are pretty skittish, flying away at the slightest motion. Our home overlooks our pond, perhaps seventy-five feet from the nearest edge. Early mornings will sometimes reveal one a Great Blue Heron in the shallow water on the south bank, near the dam. The bird will usually sense my movement inside the house and fly away before I am fully aware of its presence in the water. Sometimes they will fly to a nearby tree and sit, watching warily for more movement. Finally, with a guttural cry, they will fly off disgustedly, their early morning repast interrupted by my clumsy attempts to observe them.

Great Blue Heron’s main food is fish, taken with a sudden lurch downward with its powerful beak as it wades in the shallow water among cattails and other aquatic vegetation. They will also take crayfish, frogs, and snails. Small snakes may also make up their diet. The almost pre-historic looking birds are always a welcome sight near my Indiana garden.

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