All hail the mighty great blue heron! This is my favorite bird in my favorite family (Ardeidae, home to herons, egrets, and bitterns). I have told students (and others) that great blue herons are my favorite because, like me, they are tall, awkward, and really enjoy eating fish.
We went down to Brownsville this spring and went to the Birding and Nature Center there, where we watched a great blue heron catch a rather large fish and spend about five minutes trying to figure out if and how it could swallow it. It succeeded in the end, but there were certainly moments where it clearly thought, "MY GOD, WHAT HAVE I DONE?" and rued the choices that led it to this moment in life.
Also, herons basically have knives for faces, which makes them extra badass.
This is my favorite non-shoebill stork bird. Every time I see one in the nearby park, I feel like I just got a little treat. And when I see them eat a mouse, that's a double treat (e.g. https://www.instagram.com/p/C97fxPaMJoI/)
Homeboy heron!
All hail the mighty great blue heron! This is my favorite bird in my favorite family (Ardeidae, home to herons, egrets, and bitterns). I have told students (and others) that great blue herons are my favorite because, like me, they are tall, awkward, and really enjoy eating fish.
We went down to Brownsville this spring and went to the Birding and Nature Center there, where we watched a great blue heron catch a rather large fish and spend about five minutes trying to figure out if and how it could swallow it. It succeeded in the end, but there were certainly moments where it clearly thought, "MY GOD, WHAT HAVE I DONE?" and rued the choices that led it to this moment in life.
Also, herons basically have knives for faces, which makes them extra badass.
This is my favorite non-shoebill stork bird. Every time I see one in the nearby park, I feel like I just got a little treat. And when I see them eat a mouse, that's a double treat (e.g. https://www.instagram.com/p/C97fxPaMJoI/)