skip to main content

Great Blue Heron

8 years ago

I live in Northern Colorado and have recently seen a Great Blue Heron hanging around behind our condos. It flew off a roof and circled a nature area and then my husband saw it in the drainage ditch. Is this common? I thought it weird that it was alone, as a lot of birds are nesting right now. Thank you!

Featured Answer

ZachS. z5 Platteville, Colorado

8 years ago

Here is one of the herons I was talking about. This was when we had allowed the lake to dry out for several months in preparation for a RX burn of the cattails around it. Since it is now filled back up, I haven't noticed quite as many herons (or shorebirds, for that matter). The pickings aren't quite as easy I guess haha.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (8)

catherinet
8 years ago
I find it rare here (central Indiana) to ever see more than one blue heron at a time. Every once in a while I see 2 fly over. Once I saw 3. But usually, they seem to be solitary most of the time.
Donna R
8 years ago
I have them here, and you almost always see them alone. They do take care of the nests together, but one stays while the other goes to eat or bring back food. In the fall, if you are very, very vigilant, you might be able to see both parents with the young at the water's edge at dawn teaching them to kill frogs and fish. A sure sign that the young are learning is seeing dead fish or frogs with a single hole through them. I believe these are most likely the "ones that got away", while the young are learning, and they die later. Once I see the dead fish, then I am sure to watch that area at dawn for the next few days.
Related Discussions
Great Blue Heron!
Q
Comments (18)
A Blue Heron got a peck at my Koi a few weeks ago but I luckily came outside to find it out of the pond, I quickly ran over, picked it up and placed it back in the water. He is still alive and was doing fine until the same thing happened this morning! Unfortunately, he got pecked a bit harder a couple times on the head above the eye toward the gill. I again, ran over picked him up and put him back in the water, only this time, he has not recovered as well. After reading some forums on www.koi phen.com/forums I put him in a container, put some neosporin on the wound and put 5 drops on stress coat in there. He is such a Rambo! He is still "dazed" but looks at me when I walk up and is still breathing and moving his fins but he is ?lopsided? I am not sure that he will pull through... The other Koi didn't come up from the bottom of the pond until later this afternoon... poor things :(
...See More
great blue heron white morph
Q
Comments (3)
I noticed a similar bird in the background that has very black legs. Is that how you made the distinction? I'm sure there were other marks that you looked at. It is a beautiful bird and your pictures are wonderful. Thank you for sharing.
...See More
crow vs great blue heron?
Q
Comments (3)
One thinks of a heron as a slow, deliberate stalker...if this was a crow chick, I wonder if it was still in the nest or maybe out on a limb or even on the ground. If the move was made on a chick still in the nest high in a tree this would totally rewrite the way I think of herons going about getting their meals. As many pairs of crow eyes as there are back there, this was one bold heron thanks for the link...I'm on dial-up so YT is a pain for us, but I will set it up late one night and let it download this one.
...See More
great blue heron white morph
Q
Comments (0)
here is a shot of a great egret. notice that the egret has black legs and a thinner and brighter bill
...See More
catherinet
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Good to know, Donna! Thanks!
natureislife
Original Author
8 years ago
Great information, Thanks! This morning was rainy and we went on our morning walk and for the first time saw the Heron with another. So perhaps they are nesting and hunting together....for the time being.
ZachS. z5 Platteville, Colorado
8 years ago
Herons nest in a "rookery" where you will find a number of them all together while they are breeding, laying eggs, and caring for their young (the largest rookery here in Colorado is located at St. Vrain SP I believe). Otherwise they can be quite solitary, at least they don't tend to travel in flocks the way some other birds do.

However, numerous individuals can congregate together in suitable habitat. I work at Rocky Mountain Arsenal NWR in Commerce City and a couple weeks ago I counted 8 all clustered together in one location as they were fishing at a lake we've got on the refuge. A few days later I think it was four or five all standing in a neat row at the same lake.
natureislife thanked ZachS. z5 Platteville, Colorado
natureislife
Original Author
8 years ago
All good information. Thank you guys! They disappeared for a bit and then my husband spotted one today. They are unique to say the least. I thought this was cool: Advice from a Great Blue Heron: Enjoy a good Reed! https://shop.yourtruenature.com/products/advice-from-a-great-blue-heron-jumbo-magnet
Donna R
8 years ago
The Herons around my pond like to hide in the cat tails while they hunt...I don't think I've ever seen them standing in open water with no camouflage..

Related Stories

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Tradescantia Ohiensis Adds Shades of Blue

By Pollination Press LLC

This reliable, adaptable U.S. native provides spider-like foliage and clusters of blue to purple flowers in Eastern gardens each spring

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Polemonium Reptans Paints Woodlands Blue in Spring

By Pollination Press LLC

Plant Jacob’s ladder in eastern U.S. woodland gardens for its bright blue flowers and delicate foliage

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Juniperus Squamata ‘Blue Star’

By Jay Sifford Garden Design

Need some blues in your garden? Discover Blue Star juniper

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Blue Sage

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

True blue and adored by hummingbirds, blue sage is easy to grow from seed in a sunny fall garden

COLOR Nature’s Color Wisdom: Lessons on Blue From the Great Outdoors

By Laura Gaskill

Take some cues from the sea and sky to find a blue to match any taste and mood

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Blue Vervain for Beauty and Bees

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Try this tall and spiky pollinator plant for an unusual back-of-the-border look

LANDSCAPE DESIGN Great Design Plant: Blue Fescue

By Annie Thornton

Is there anywhere this grass doesn't look great? Bonus: It outlasts other grasses in color and doesn't hog water

BLUE AND GRAY FOLIAGE Great Design Plant: Blue Chalk Sticks

By Annie Thornton

Great color and texture make this drought-tolerant succulent a favorite for landscape designs

DECORATING GUIDES Great Combinations: Blue and Brown

Inspiration for Every Room From the Colors of Earth and Sky

BLUE AND GRAY FOLIAGE Great Design Plant: Blue Oat Grass

By Annie Thornton

For soothing coolness in a garden or container, this evergreen grass is the low-maintenance and hardy choice to know

Sponsored