About the Photo of the Month - October 2004


At four feet tall, Great Blue Herons are the tallest birds in the northwoods. We're lucky to have a few of the birds frequent Johnson Lake during summer months. When they fly overhead, you can hear the air rushing past their four-foot wingspan.


Great Blue Herons build crude nests of sticks in bushes or on a tree, usually in a colony with other herons. They lay up to five eggs, which hatch in about a month. Two months later, the babies are ready to fly.

You'll often see these birds standing still in shallow water waiting for lunch to cross their paths. Herons spear fish with their sharp beak and swallow them whole. They also eat frogs, turtles, rodents, snakes, and other animals. When they strike, they can make quite a splash. The bird below looks like its feathers are wet from a recent hunt.





Photo by Jon Okerstrom, Fall, 2004

Posted: Sat - October 2, 2004 at 12:24 PM      

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