I have seen this great blue heron at Joe Brown’s Pond throughout the winter. This particular morning, I found it perched on a limb just as the sun was coming up. Although somewhat skittish, I was able to get a few photos.
According to the Mass Audubon, great blue herons have experienced a remarkable resurgence in the state over the past few decades. Once a rare sight due to hunting and pollution, these majestic wading birds can now be found in ponds, lakes and rivers, often in surprisingly urban areas. The increase in the beaver population in Massachusetts has created ideal nesting habitat for great blue herons, as the beavers’ activities result in swamps with dead trees. The herons’ comeback can also be attributed to stricter protection of both the birds themselves and the wetlands they depend on.
Great blue herons are impressive birds, standing at approximately four feet tall with long legs and graceful necks. They have straight, dagger-like bills, which they use to spear fish, and adults have thin black plumes swept back behind their heads. In Massachusetts, migrating great blue herons arrive as early as late March and depart between mid-July and late September, with some birds wintering in coastal areas or where freshwater remains unfrozen. These herons nest communally in “rookeries” or “heronries,” which can hold up to 50 pairs. They typically use the same rookery every year until the trees eventually collapse. While fish make up the majority of their diet, great blue herons also consume crabs, insects, frogs, snakes, salamanders, grasshoppers, dragonflies, aquatic insects and, occasionally, small rodents.
The Marblehead Current is proud to partner with photographer Rick Cuzner. For the past 16 years, he has taken thousands of nature photographs.
