northeast-flora-and-fauna

Green Herons and Great Blue Herons weren't the only herons I spotted on this day; this Great Egret struck a pose as it waded over to its fishing spot. Since there's no taxonomic difference between herons and egrets, I'm going to claim that I hit the Heron Trifecta this day. Great Egrets are, anatomically speaking, slightly short and thin Great Blue Herons, and since the Great Blue Heron has virtually no avian predators [1], the same is probably also true of the Great Egret. If a coyote or bobcat caught 1 on land, my guess it wouldn't go well for the Great Egret. In the water, there are probably somewhat rare attacks by Common Snapping Turtles , though between scavenging and eating vegetation, snapping turtles usually find easier prey. May 25, 2023 at Duke Farms Photo 292819218, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) [1] It sounds like Golden Eagles will sometimes prey on Great Blue Herons but Bald Eagles rarely will. Since my area is largely devoid of Golde...

Not far from the Green Herons , I met this Great Blue Heron intently scanning the water from its throne [1], a tree branch protruding from the water. I'm not sure if these 2 species consider themselves competitors though they're after similar food [2]. Nor have I witnessed fights or squabbles between herons even when they're both within line of sight of 1 another. While their much larger size would seem to guarantee the Great Blue Heron a victory in an altercation, fights do have consequences: Even a smaller foe could wound a bigger rival, leading to infection or impaired hunting ability. The effort/energy of fighting is effort/energy that won't be used to find food or find a mate. Especially if fish are abundant, bird calculus might indicate that peaceful coexistence is superior to conflict. May 25, 2023 at Duke Farms Photo 292818451, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) [1] Maybe the throne should be for a Belted Kingfisher , because of that whole "ki...

I saw this pair of Green Herons at the same body of water last spring. If I recall correctly, they were both photographed at Duke Farms' Turtle Lake (not the nearby Heron Lake), though they weren't especially close to 1 another. Given it being spring, I always wonder if this could have been a breeding pair based on nothing more than proximity, similar to the pair I discussed here . I have seen Green Herons near 1 another in the past that I suspected were juvenile siblings but these birds look like adults to me. These photos also highlight the way Green Herons can scrunch their necks (looking a little non-heron-like) as seen in the 1st picture -or- they can really stretch that neck out as seen in the 2nd picture. These 2 different looks will sometimes cause the naive to think these aren't the same species of bird. While bird shapes are important to note in identifications, there are times when the same bird could look radically different at different times. May 25, 2023 at...

This Common Snapping Turtle came out of the muck of Great Swamp to bask with a piece of the swamp stuck to its back. Although it might make the snapping turtle feel a little more secure via a little  camouflage [1], gunk on the carapace does cut down on the sun rays it's able to absorb. I've certainly seen them basking further out of the water , though they spend more of their time in shallow water .  If humans were worrying the snapping turtle, it would probably be happy to hear that I wouldn't have noticed it if I wasn't scanning the area with my binoculars. With the naked eye, I doubt I'd have spotted it. (This is also how I spotted yesterday's Green Heron ; I have no idea if they're friends.) May 11, 2023 at Great Swamp Photo 282421749, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) [1] Adult snapping turtles don't have a lot of predators; similar to deer, their main predator these days might be the automobile. Still, while they have a fierce reput...

As they're wont to do, this Green Heron was standing outside the water; they prefer not to get their feet wet until they have to. Given the relatively shallow muddy water, I'm thinking the heron might have been hunting for frogs or crayfish more than regular fish. This is 1 of our 3 easiest-to-spot herons, and the only 1 without "great" in their name: Great Blue Heron and Great Egret . What they lack in greatness, they make up with in greenness [1]; they are a bit more colorful than those other herons [2]. May 11, 2023 at Great Swamp Photo 282421692, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) [1] Admittedly Green Herons aren't exactly a classic green, though it's not too far from being a midnight green . [2] I know white light is a mix of all the other colors, but us humans don't usually consider white to be particularly colorful, and so I'm claiming the Green Heron is more colorful than the Great Egret.

Though Green Herons will spend the summers here raising their families, they prefer warmer climes during our colder months. I had pretty much stopped seeing them this season until I stumbled upon this fella. As Green Herons are wont to do, this one had its neck in "retraction mode", giving it an un-heron-like appearance. (My guess is that this is the primary reason they're sometimes misidentified.) The heron is also less colorful than most Green Herons I encounter. I wonder if this could be a juvenile that hasn't quite gotten to its adult plumage. (I also wonder if an inexperienced juvenile might be a little late in picking up on the cues to migrate.) October 20, 2022 at Duke Farms Photo 250355422, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

Late last summer, I met this Green Heron in that intersection of Turtle Lake and (appropriately) Heron Lake at Duke Farms. Of course I've talked about them before , but they're so photogenic that they're always a welcome photography opportunity. Did you know that these birds use bait to help them catch/eat fish, making them one of the few (but growing) list of tool-using birds. September 3, 2022 at Duke Farms Photo 238964661, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

Despite a fishing ban at Duke Farms, I encountered these 2 fishermen out at Heron Lake this past July. I can only assume that this Double-crested Cormorant and Green Heron were attempting to exchange fishing tips, but given their different styles of fishing each probably thought the other was crazy: Green Heron: "Are you nuts? You don't want to go thrashing around in the water! You'll scare all the fish away doing that. Just find some shallow water, slowly and carefully walk along the shore, and when you spot a fish, just grab it." Double-crested Cormorant: "No, no, no - that's not the way to fish. Sure you might get lucky and bump into a particularly stupid fish, but you want to be out there in the middle of the lake. Then when you notice a fish, dive after it. Go as deep as you need to when pursuing it, then grab it in your beak. That's the way to fish." And don't even try and talk to them about fishing poles. 😀 I'd imagine they'll ...

Though this wasn't the first Green Heron I saw this season (that heron would be here ), this might be the best look I've gotten of one thus far this season. This was taken after one of the Farmers' Market events on a Sunday. I was snooping around the Rain Garden [1] when I saw something that (to paraphrase Yogi Bear) was "bigger than the average bird". Initially could barely see the heron, but eventually it emerged from dense foliage and I got some pretty good looks. Since the Rain Garden isn't (normally) connected to a larger body of water (Duke's Brook is closest), I doubt that there were any fish for the heron. I know there were frogs there though, and it probably has the ecosystem of a long-lived vernal pond. And the shallowness of the water during the drought probably makes it harder for any animals in there to hide from predators like herons. Green Herons are considered to be one of the relatively few tool-using birds. Don't expect them to be ru...

I was actually looking at a Great Egret (quite possibly this guy ) further out at the marshy part of Duke's Brook when a couple pointed out this much closer Green Heron at the top of the waterfall. This is probably a good spot since the water's shallow as it goes over the falls and the heron doesn't even need to get its feet wet. I've talked and talked and talked about Green Herons, so I'll just quickly recap that: It's in "scrunched neck mode", giving a somewhat un-heron-like look, but they can also stretch those necks out and get you thinking about herons. They'll probably eat any animal matter that they can swallow whole.  They're not typically a forest green color, usually looking more aquamarine or turquoise. Though other people had been reporting seeing Green Herons here for over a month, this was my first sighting of the season. June 2, 2022 at Duke Farms Photo 205021364, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

Though it's a bit obscured, I'm glad I got this picture. Normally I like pictures of Green Herons because they're colorful birds with a striking look. This one though looks like a frizzy-feathered young heron, and I don't see them very often. You might say that this can't be a heron; the neck is too short. Well, Green Heron's probably do have less neck length than some of its heron relatives, but it's longer than it appears in this picture. Green Herons are skilled at scrunching up their necks so the necks look shorter than they actually are. That's just the way Green Herons roll. As I recall, the Duke Farms Waterfowl Count Team actually saw a bunch of juvenile Green Herons this summer, though I only managed to get one picture of them. You need to be in the right place at the right time, and you either need to see them before they see you, or you need to be so far away that they don't perceive you as a threat. August 5, 2021 at Duke Farms Photo 1489...

Here's a Green Heron at Duke Farms. The heron looks a little like it was stalking something, slowly approaching while focused on prey. But it was probably a false alarm; I didn't see the heron catch - or even lunge at - anything. Most herons are happy to wade in water, but the Green Heron prefers to stand outside of water when hunting for prey. I suspect this perch is a little too far above the water to allow the heron to reach the water with a strike with its beak, though other spots on this downed tree could be a perfect fishing spot for it. As I've mentioned before, there's no taxonomic difference between herons and egrets. In this area the Green Heron's closest relatives aren't the Great Blue or the Little Blue Herons, it is the Cattle Egret. (The Great Blue Heron's closest relative in this area is the Great Egret.) June 23, 2021 at Duke Farms Photo 141961334, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

A couple months ago I was at the Negri-Nepote Native Grassland Preserve and saw a couple of Green Herons at the pond there. Given it was spring I was wondering if it could have been a breeding pair. Unfortunately I didn't see any interaction between them, and only got pictures of one of them. This one was clearly busy hunting for food; the other was busy hiding in foliage and thwarting my photography attempt. June 2, 2021 at Negri-Nepote Native Grassland Preserve Photo 136367223, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

On Memorial Day I was leaving Duke Farms when I spotted something in Dukes Brook. It turned out to be this Green Heron fishing amid the grass. (I'm calling this fishing, though I have no doubt that frogs and other small animal life were on the menu.) Most of the time I don't find Green Herons to be forest green or leprechaun green but something more like a turquoise or teal color. The coloring of this heron is bluer than I'd usually expect, though it's possible that late-day shadows and/or molting are playing into the appearance. If you know where to look, I'm told there are quite a few Green Herons living on the property this summer. May 31, 2021 at Duke Farms Photo 133215801, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

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...