Green Heron

Here's a Green Heron I met last month. Unlike the Great Blue Heron that you can find all year round here in New Jersey, the Green Heron wants no part of our winters. Georgia is about as far north as they'll stay during the cold weather months. They're probably not a early sign of spring; they're probably a sign that spring is well established.

The Great Blue Heron is usually considered a bird that'll eat any animal it can catch and swallow; the Green Heron sounds similar, but their smaller size means that they can't eat some of what's on the Great Blue's menu. They're not above eating insects if they can catch them.

In a pose like this (which is a common pose), you might think that the body shape is wrong for heron. But while they scrunch their necks like this frequently, the Green Heron can also extend their necks into the long/thin ones that we associate with herons.

May 10, 2021 at the Raritan River Greenway
Photo 128959592, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


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