Greats in the bay

We thought they’d left already. Great Blue Herons had been missing from the bay for a few days. Then, there they were, upwards of fifteen of them spread out along the bay by the boardwalk in Summerside.  Migration is in the air now as temperatures at night are in the single digits on occasion. My husband and I are happy to observe them at every opportunity.

 

Last month, we watched as one of the Greats caught its lunch as it stood near a sandbar. 

We didn’t know at the time, but it had caught a Sculpin. 

While humans don’t eat Sculpins, herons do. I watched the bird as it turned away from shore to eat the fish. 

Our most recent encounter was with 10-15 of the large birds on a day with a slight breeze. It was hard to keep count of them since they flew around the bay, checking out different areas in the falling tide.

My husband’s photo of four of the Greats with the blue background of a heavy overcast day was my favourite group photo of that day. 

Photos of the Greats in flight show the huge wing span. 

Photos of them landing show the feet reaching for the ground.

The S shaped neck is clearly defined in this photo. This bird looks powerful.

This group photo shows three stances which we commonly see among the birds.

Some of my favourite photos show the neck feathers. Those feathers look fluffy when they are dry.

Wet is a different story.

These birds deserve the word great for so many reasons!