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| Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) |
A
Great Blue Heron (
Ardea herodias) takes a break from foraging off the South Fidalgo shore. They are daily visitors and I have noticed an interesting behavior while they feed. The birds will space themselves respectfully 100-200 feet/30-60 meters apart along the beach. They become alarmed if they get too close together and quickly rearrange themselves. While they seem to prefer foraging in isolation, they nest in crowded rookeries that can number several hundred pairs. This bird is probably from the
March's Point Heronry with nearly 400 nests at the present time. When running, you can see what is happening there on the live
Heron Cam. Another rookery can be found on
Samish Island nearby. The local birds have some rather expensive tastes which include
Japanese Koi from my pond.
