Are You Heron About All the Great Blues?

Around here if you're around open water it's fairly likely you'll run across 1 or more Great Blue Herons. While they're certainly not as plentiful as omnivorous waterfowl like Mallards or Canada Geese, their tendency to forage alone causes them to spread out so that a lot of our wetlands have a Great Blue Heron patrolling it.

One day last winter while visiting Duke Island Park/Raritan River Greenway [1] I'm pretty sure I encountered 3 of these birds. How do I know these aren't the same bird? I guess I really don't know for sure. Different posture and lighting could give a single heron 3 different looks. Still, none of these birds left on my account, so I suspect they'd have no compelling reason to leave the general area as I moved on.

February 10, 2023 at the Raritan Water Power Canal
Photo 263680969, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

February 10, 2023 at the Raritan Water Power Canal
Photo 263680834, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

February 10, 2023 at the Raritan Water Power Canal
Photo 263680791, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

[1] I'm a little unclear on the relationship between Duke Island Park and the Raritan River Greenway. My guess is that the Raritan River Greenway isn't a true park but a more nebulous entity that contains Duke Island Park plus other public land.

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