The Green Heron Experience

Nabbing a Minnow - my favorite shot during a marvelous moment with this Green Heron.

On my recent trip to Arizona, I enjoyed a couple of hours birding at the Gilbert Water Ranch. At one of the several ponds, hearing the sound of water and knowing that inlets such as these often provide an abundance of delectables for birds I figured I'd take a gander. I spied this Green Heron approaching and I just knew that this streamlet would be it's stopping point. There was a row of green vegetation on my side of the stream, so I got down on my belly and army crawled down to the pond's edge putting me at eye-level with my camera's intended target. The sun was directly behind me and the Green Heron was still walking in my direction. It was a perfect moment of combined luck and preparation. All but my head and arms were concealed by plant matter. The heron saw me all right, but didn't seem to be agitated at all by my presence. I was fortunate enough to spend the next half hour just a few intimate feet away from one of my all time favorite bird species. I shot hundreds of frames with hardly a throw-away in the bunch. May I share with you a selection of some of the more interesting images? (you can click on one of the images to bring up a lightbox to enjoy larger photos)

"You can't see me. I'm a leaf!"

Much like a bittern, a Green Heron will at times hide in plain sight using its native camouflage and pretending it is a reed by pointing its bill skyward. Had I not been just feet away, just maybe it would have blended into the leaves it was mimicking. Below is a full profile view of this masterpiece of a bird!

"Nobody likes me. Everybody hates me. Guess I'll go eat worms."

No matter how appetizing or not it may seem, no small pond critter is safe when this precision hunter is stalking the shallows.

Here, I felt like the heron was boastfully showing me its catch.
"I'm one bad killin' machine. And yes, I'm gonna eat this slimy worm and I'm gonna like it."

We all know birds have ears, right? But we don't often get to see them. There was a steady breeze while I was taking these photographs and I got to see the Green Heron's ear hole a few times. Interesting, huh?!

Yeah...I think birds look better with those ear holes covered with pretty feathers.

Now, I'm not sure what that tongue lolling out the side of its bill was all about, but I'm not taking it as a personal insult.

Check out that chiseled dagger-like bill. Awesome!

Based on many photographs, it seems that most birds have built-in protective eye-wear called a "nicitating membrane". I captured this eye covering several times as the heron seemed to use it to occasionally blink. After all, the Latin "nictare" does mean "to blink".

It was fascinating watching the Green Heron stalk and hunt. It seemed to move in slow motion, raising its foot out of water just a millimeter at a time.

Let's get a closer look at those legs and feet...

Angry Birds audition...

Friends and family to whom I've shown these images are consistently commenting about the lack of green as its name describes. I've seen some that appear more green than others, so there does seem to be a wide range of color variation.

Such precision hunting requires great levels of concentration and focus...

When I felt I had invaded this Green Heron's privacy long enough, I slithered back up the trail so as not to further disturb it. I had a human audience of three waiting for me back up on the trail. They said that they had seen me from across the pond and had come over to find out why in the world I was laying on the ground; either something was wrong with me or I was on to something very interesting. I showed them my photos on my camera and then guided them down the small little slope so they could see the Green Heron for themselves. They were delighted. 

The whole experience was one of those magical moments when all the elements combined in perfect harmony. I got an incredible up-close and personal experience, from which I learned, and I was able to get decent photographs. I hope you got a taste of it by reading this post.

Happy Birding!