Sunday, October 20, 2013

Great Blue Heron

 
The Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) is the largest bird in Georgia. (I already showed you the smallest bird, the hummingbird!)  We see it almost every time that we walk the new trail at Lake Alexander.  At different locations beside the lake, we see it absolutely still, hunting for fish. Another time, we saw it very high up a tree (and we heard it before we saw it!)  And one memorable late afternoon, as we were walking over the boardwalk, I spotted what I thought could be a heron. It looked as if it were sitting amongst some high grass beside the wetlands next to a tree and since the neck of this bird perfectly mimics a gray branch, I couldn't be certain of what it was.  I asked Richard to snap a photo and then to look at it and enlarge the image..."Is it a bird or a limb?", I asked him.  In his dry English way, he said, "Well, it has an eye".
Oh, he does make me laugh!






If you would like to see another heron, then you should look at this post.  It is from my blogging friend, Meike from her visit to the Pumpkin Festival at the Ludwigsburg Palace in Germany! Meike lives in Ludwigsburg, so is able to visit the Palace and lovely grounds quite often! (You will be able to enjoy the flowers and pumpkin displays before you get to the heron at the very end!) Meike said that many walked right past the heron since it was standing so perfectly still.  The same goes for the heron that we see at this lake.  Very often, people there have no idea what they are passing by...they don't know what they are missing!  Today, we saw it in flight...a graceful, elegant bird, the legs trail out behind and those long wings...beautiful!



Just had to show you this photo of the early morning mist on the lake.  For Richard, this is becoming like the Houses of Parliament were for Claude Monet who painted those buildings in all kinds of light and weather. The same can be said for Richard and his photos of this new boardwalk.  Richard will scoff at me for comparing him to Monet...but honestly, his talent just stuns me, I am sure that all of you appreciate his artistic eye.


 

36 comments:

  1. Kay, I love all your photos. The heron was beautiful. xoxo,Susie

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    1. Thanks, Susie! Richard takes almost all the photos on this blog, I am very lucky! It was hard to get a very good shot of the heron, even for him, we were quite a distance away for most of these!

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  2. When I had a house deep in the suburbs, I had neighbors who put in a Koi pond. I looked out towards it one morning, and saw a blue heron on the chain link fence near the pond. When it comes to frogs and fish those herons are relentless!

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    1. I have read that those who have fish ponds are told to put a plastic heron beside the pond and the heron will think it is real and go somewhere else. That is the theory anyway! HA!

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  3. Love the pix! Your hubby does have a good photo eye. One day I saw something in the yard just sitting there not moving. I walked slowly to it and saw it was a Heron. He slowly moved away and then flew to the fence. I caught a few pics before he flew off. So cool!

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    1. Very exciting to see one in your yard! Wasn't that exciting? And then to see it fly away? Glad you had your camera!

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  4. Oh, I love herons! Really lovely post.....

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    1. Thanks, Audrey! I remember seeing a post of yours where they were in the trees! So beautiful!

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  5. You give a delightful glimpse into life in Georgia and your life as well. The pictures are beautiful indeed. Herons are fascinating to watch. they will stay in one spot forever.

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    1. The funny thing, this beautiful state park is just a few miles away from a very busy interstate expressway, (only about 20 miles from Atlanta) but you never know it when you are on this land and walking around the lake, it's lovely.

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  6. Thank you for linking to my blog, dear Kay!
    Your (i. e. Richard's) heron pictures are very good, and what you wrote there: "we heard him before we saw him" made me realize that, although I do see herons rather often, I have not the slightest idea of what they sound like! Must ask my Dad, he is the expert in our family when it comes to birds and their voices.
    On Sunday morning, while I was still in bed but already awake, I heard a faint but very sweet birdsong outside. I could tell it was not a blackbird - their song is unmistakeable, and besideds, they do not sing at this time of the year (very few birds do outside the mating season). So I asked my Dad, and he said it must have been either a robin or a redstart.
    The boardwalk looks spectacular in all kinds of light and weather, it is true!

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    1. http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Blue_Heron/sounds
      You may hear the recordings on the link I have for you above! It is a croaking "ROK ROK" sound, and we knew we just had to find what was making that sound!
      Oh, Meike, I very well remember the English robin (which must be the same bird you have in Germany) and its beautiful song!

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  7. I love early morning mist when there is the promise of sun to come. Heron's can be quite astonishing birds. I've seen one catch a rat and then take it into the water and drown it before popping it down its gullet.

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    1. Richard likes to get to the lake early so as to catch the mist. In Georgia, it might not last very long!
      I have read that the herons must be very careful of the size of animals that they eat, I understand they can choke on them! (Yep, that's me, I've done a bit of reading on herons and now, I am an expert! HA!)

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  8. I love the music accompanying the video, it seems so appropriate, as a lot of the movements are so balletic.
    The mist on the lake looks enchanting. Both shots of the boardwalk are beautiful. Monet, I mean, Richard, captured them so well.

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    1. I know, I LOVED that music with the heron, thought it went perfectly with the music when he flew off.
      Yes, I have my own private Monet, HA!, I love it! xx

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  9. Kay, my sister lives on Lake Sinclair and there's a blue heron that comes and sits quietly waiting to catch a fish near the bank of the lake. I have seen it when I was visiting, it is so good to get to watch it in flight.
    The bridge is beautiful. Thanks for sharing your photo's.

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    1. Lake Sinclair is lovely and I just know the sight of the blue heron must be such a wonderful thing to see!
      If ever you are in the Atlanta area, Panola Mountain State Park is not far from I-20! Arabia Mountain is close-by too!

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  10. The pictures are beautiful.
    Greetings, RW & SK

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    1. Thank you very much! Your photos are very beautiful! I think that is a blackbird beside your name!
      I think y'all are first time visitors, so I welcome you! Please stop by again.
      My husband, Richard takes almost all the photos on this blog. I didn't know how good he was until I started this blog in 2011.

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  11. He does have a great eye! We see herons, although i'm not sure what type, when we are in Florida each year. One is a "friend" to my children, waiting while they fish because they give the ones we can't cook to him.

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    1. Thanks!
      And that is one smart heron you have! :-)

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  12. Beautiful pictures! How nice you live where there are so many nice photo opportunities.

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    1. Oh, I could take lots of photos of things that are not very nice...but you know us, we look on the BRIGHT SIDE of life! xx

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  13. I was stunned by the beauty of this boardwalk the first time you included it in your blog and I still am. Your husband has a great eye, and the person who designed this boardwalk had a great aesthetic sense, too.....

    Love herons! They nest in a huge, what, heronry?, near here in the National Park. I often see them on their nests, but very rarely on the ground so I really especially enjoyed your pictures.

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    1. What is even more extraordinary...there is a bridge on the trail not too far away that is called a serpentine bridge and it is not nearly as beautiful as this boardwalk over the lake/wetlands. (We can't QUITE figure out why they call that bridge "serpentine" as it only curves ever so slightly at the ends.) Anyway, I am very grateful for whoever designed the boardwalk and for those who were responsible for having it built!
      Sorry we couldn't get better photos of the heron! :-)

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  14. Love our herons here in Georgia, it always fascinates me when I see one take off in flight.

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    1. You must have LOTS of bird life along the coast. I lived in St. Mary's when I was a teenager and remember the marshes with all the wildlife. (Didn't appreciate them so much at the time!)

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  15. A Heron cleaned the fish out of the public garden pond, the brute!
    Richard and Money go together I say!

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    1. Oh dear!
      Richard and Monet, I thnk you meant to say...but what you typed is funnier and made me laugh! :-D

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    1. Beautiful and majestic, exactly so.
      Thanks for your comment! :-)

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  17. They are such beautiful birds. And yes, that photo does have a Monet look to it. Very impressionistic.

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    1. Thanks, Kay. I love Richard's photos, I suppose anyone who reads my blog must know that! xx

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  18. The blue herons I see when I go to the river near my home town never stand still for a photo, or for me to pass by; but maybe the are not the "Great" ones.

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