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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
This Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) was standing on the shore just off Hwy. 17, near the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal in BC, south of Vancouver. Presumably, he was just about to resume his fishing activity, or he had had his fill for the day.
Excerpts from three of the sites I found with information on the Great Blue Heron are as follows:
http://www.pwlf.org/gbh.htm:
The Great Blue Heron is a widespread year round resident of the Pacific Coast of North America. It lives along the seashore from southern Alaska to Baja California and across North American from southern Canada to northern Mexico. Herons depart parts of Canada and northern United States that freeze in winter for the southern USA, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America or northern South America.
About 10,000 herons reside along the Pacific Coast between Washington and Alaska. Many thousand likely reside along the coast of California and a few thousand probably live on the Oregon coast. The northwest coast subspecies has been most studied in recent years.
http://www.birdweb.org/birdweb/bird_details.aspx?id=41:
The familiar Great Blue Heron is the largest heron in North America. It is a large bird, with a slate-gray body, chestnut and black accents, and very long legs and neck. In flight, it looks enormous, with a six-foot wingspan. Adults sport a shaggy ruff at the base of their necks. A black eyebrow extends back to black plumes emerging from the head. Juveniles have a dark crown with no plumes or ruff, and a mottled neck. In flight, a Great Blue Heron typically holds its head in toward its body with its neck bent.
http://www.hww.ca/hww2.asp?cid=7&id=43:
This bird gives the general impression of being tall and thin: its wings, neck, bill, and legs are long. The long limbs dictate the heron’s movements: it flies with deep, slow wing beats, and on land, or in the water, it walks erect with long strides. In flight, the neck is doubled back, the head resting against the shoulders, and the long legs held straight behind
The top of the adult’s head is white with a black stripe on each side extending from the yellow eyes to slender black plumes at the back of the head. Its back is greyish blue, and its breast is white streaked with black. Breeding herons have long plumes on their breasts, flanks, and backs. The sexes look much alike, but the males are usually bigger than the females.
From birth to two years, Great Blue Herons moult, or replace old feathers with new, four times. During the first year, juveniles have grey crowns and grey wings flecked with brown, and they lack plumes. Adult Great Blue Herons show brighter colours during the breeding season, moult some plumes in summer, and change to duller colours in winter.
Great Blue Herons live long lives, some as long as 17 years. |
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