Offshore Great Blue Heron

I saw this Great Blue Heron further offshore than I usually do. I frequently see them in the water, though usually they're walking/standing just off the shore in shallow water. At the time I assumed that the water was surprisingly shallow all the way between the heron and the shore, and that the heron (probably slowly and perhaps cautiously) simply walked out there.

While this interpretation is certainly plausible, I'm unsure there's a navigable walkway from there to the shore, or that the heron would be able to find such a walkway if it does exist. And I haven't known Great Blue Herons to swim; they are considered wading birds, after all.

But apparently Great Blue Herons can swim if they want to, as this video and this article attest. I've seen videos of eagles and owls swimming when necessary, though they look fairly awkward doing it. At least in the video, the Great Blue Heron looks fairly natural doing it, and it even looks like they can take to flight from water if the occasion requires it. 

Now I kind of wish I had spent more time watching this fella. Maybe I'd have seen the heron using one of it's less common skills. Of course, herons are by nature deliberate and patient birds; I might have had to wait a long time for it to decide to leave that spot.

June 11, 2021 at Washington Valley Reservoir


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