Mostly about the Green Herons I Have Met

I haven't met very many Green Herons so every occasion is marked forever in my memory.  I am sharing them (and a few other critters) with Eileen, who today publishes her 160th post for Saturday's Critters, the meme she hosts.  She has remained a loyal and consistent blogger over the years, showing the wildlife she loves to photograph in her backyard and during excursions near and far.  Her meme is a wonderful opportunity for critter enthusiasts to see just about every critter known to mankind from places all over the world.

My first ever Green Heron sighting was on the 12th of August, 2012 at Deboville Slough.  My bird book tells me females and males are similar, with females a bit smaller and with more muted colouring.  I would guess this and most of the ones I saw to be males, but will leave it to experts to identify genders if they choose.

 I couldn't resist showing a few other critters spotted the same day as the Green Herons.  This was an osprey we saw that day.

 We were so excited about several of our sightings at Deboville that we returned three days later and saw this Green Heron with a frog fighting, futilely, for its life.

The very next day, we were back again. We knew there were bears in the blueberry bushes along the slough, and I hoped to see my first ever bear in the wild.  Again, we saw a Green Heron, and this time, it gave me a reflection shot.

I was very excited to see a bear and her cub at quite a distance.  This is taken with my long lens (125-500mm) and I cropped the photo to show a bit of detail.

 That day, I also got a shot of this dragonfly.  I didn't realize at the time that they are also part of a Green Heron's diet.

 Another bear.  This one shows the blueberry fields.  The bears spend a lot of time in those fields.  We were very cautious, never ever approaching the bears, but I confess I was beginning to feel a little too confident that they would not bother us.  I was sure they were so interested in the blueberries that people would be of little interest to them.  It was a shock to learn that a young girl was seriously mauled by a cub this past August (three years after we had visited the area).  That cub's mother had to be shot and the cub put into a wildlife refuge.  Clearly, this next..

shot, taken with my long lens, may have been pushing our luck.  The bear was walking along the road.  We followed at what I thought was a respectful distance when it turned and gave us an intense stare.  I have a huge respect for wildlife and thought I was not harassing the bear but the more I learn, the more the feeling is cemented in my mind that animals are being squeezed out of their natural habitat and forced into human territory.  We all, myself included, need to question ourselves about the integrity of our quest for wildlife interactions.

We spotted this frog that day..

 as well as several dragonflies.  This one gave me quite a stare as well.

Bill became very ill in 2013 and I mostly stayed close to home, but one day, he suggested I ride my bike to McCleery Golf Course to see the Green Herons I had read about on line.  Bless his heart, he had to come get me, as I took a very long route home and finally realized I wouldn't make it before dark without his help.  That was the last trip out for a while so this next set of Green Heron photos were my last until 2016.  They sure were active that day.  

 I loved the "bad hair day" images. :)

 When they are on the hunt, they seem to be able to traverse land or twigs..

 with equal ease.

Walking on twigs. :)

 Again, more confirmation that frogs are an integral part of their diet.

Moving ahead three years to June 22nd, 2016, I discovered a Green Heron in the creek by Olympic Village, not far from our apartment.  Never before, had I seen one at that location.  I could see that his bill was broken and called Wildlife Rescue.  They answered the phone call but because I wasn't able to send a photo (no smart phone at the time), they decided, I guess, that the rescue would be impossible.  I sent an email with photos when I arrived home, but never heard back from them.  I was disappointed, but have to conclude they had good reasons for this.  Wildlife Rescue is an incredible organization that does invaluable work rehabilitating wildlife.

 I was glad to see that the heron was interested in hunting, despite his injury.

 Here's a closer look at his bill.

 And another look, straight on.

Four days later, I went back, hoping to spot the Green Heron again.  Instead, I saw many dragonflies.

 I took a ton of photos, but still hadn't caught on..

 that they are part of the heron's diet.

A few weeks later (July 18th, 2016), Bill and I were happy to see the same Green Heron.  It was clearly surviving and I caught a video of it catching dragonflies.  I love this video most because of the excitement in Bill's voice.  You have to listen carefully and turn your volume as loud as it will go to share in the fun.

Poor dragonfly, but I was happy the heron was surviving.

 He also seemed to be catching tiny eel-like fish.

 Another hapless victim, but again, good news for the heron.

 He was having a lot of success that day.

My last sighting of the heron was on August 13th, 2016.  He caught one of the little fish, and I thought he appeared to be thriving.  We went back many times after that, hoping to spot him again, but finally had to conclude that he had either moved on, or worse, hadn't survived.  I guess we'll never know the ending to his story, unless, by some wonderful chance, he makes a reappearance next year.  If he does, I promise to let you know. 

I watched herons when I was alone and when I was with Bill.  Perhaps, you can guess that the most wonderful times were the ones shared with him.  Here, he waves to me from the community garden where Black Jack loves to walk.  He was keeping her amused so that I could concentrate on getting photos.  

A critter post without a photo of Black Jack wouldn't feel right, so here is a photo of her that I took this morning as she basked in the morning sun.  Thank you so much for stopping by.  I hope you will find a little time to check out Eileen's Saturday Critters as well.  Thank you so much, Eileen, for hosting!