Facts About:: Great Blue Herons

Apparently, I live next to a Great Blue Heron heronry. On the road next to where I live there is a huge sign that proclaims, "Great Blue Heron Viewing Area." I thought this was cool, as every time I drove by, and I mean EVERY TIME I drove by, I could see a little Great Blue Heron on the right side fishing in one of the rivers or picking around the swampy land. I though that this was cool.

And then winter happened. And I managed to look left and up as I was driving by. I saw this:


And 4 other trees similarly filled with Great Blue Heron nests.

How could I have been so stupid? I had missed the HUGE settlement of Great Blue Herons since I moved here in August. I was frankly pissed at myself.

And then. The trees blossomed. And the same tree? It turned into a huge hiding place for those huge nests:


I didn't feel so badly about missing the heronry after I saw how well it hid itself.

And so, here is a special edition of The Pink Shoe: Facts About, brought to you by the People Who Made the Heronry Sign, Probably the National Park Service and the City of Akron, or so the sign claimed.

1.


While the Great Blue Heron only weighs about as much as a newborn human, they're already four feet tall and have a wingspan that rivals LeBron James (who is also from Akron, and is 6'8" and 250 lbs, and has a wingspan of 7’0¼”).

2.
It's no wonder that I saw the Great Blue Herons standing by the river - they were most likely waiting to spear their prey with their beaks.

I like that they hunt by stealth - I imagine them as the James Bond of the avian world.

3.

While human males keep their females happy with pretty diamonds, heron males initiate and continue their courtship by presenting the females with sticks that will make their nests larger.
And while I find both the drawing of herons with sticks and the idea of developing a home together, I still like the diamonds. I don't think I'd make a good heron.