Herons

Great Blue Heron

A six-pound heron can swallow a one-pound fish. That’s like a one-hundred-pound person swallowing a seventeen-pound fish. Whole.

■ Great Blue Herons often nest in small colonies, and gain some protection from ground predators by building their nests in trees that are standing in water. Herons have benefited from the resurgence of beavers in the northern U.S., as beavers create new wetlands with lots of standing dead trees, perfect for heron nests.

Great Blue Herons at a nest

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■ The heron’s sharp, pointed bill is not used to spear prey. During the lightning-quick strike they open their bill less than one-thirtieth of a second before contact, and end up holding their prey between their two mandibles.

Great Blue Heron head-on

Sequence of the foraging strike of a Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Herons are very patient hunters, watching and occasionally taking a slow step forward. When a potential prey item is sighted, they lean forward, neck slightly coiled, lining up and carefully planning for one explosive strike. In a fraction of a second they have grabbed the fish in their bill. Out of the water, they reposition the fish with a quick toss so they can swallow it—head first and whole. Smaller prey like minnows go down with no trouble. Larger prey can take up to a minute to travel the length of the neck, with a bulge visible all the way down. After a very large meal the heron may sit for several minutes to let it “settle” before going back to hunting.