Great Blue Heron or Ardea herdias

The Great Blue Heron or Ardea herdias is a common sight throughout Florida.

This big crane like bird is always fun to watch. They will hunt silenty for fish along the water’s edge. They can be perfectly motionless, waiting for a small fish or other prey item to come within it’s reach, then like lightning it strikes with it’s spear like beak!

I don’t know about you but I have tried to catch a fish with my bare hands on several occasions and I can’t do it. I can’t even come close but The Great Blue Heron doesn’t have that problem. It’s speed is simply amazing.

The Great Blue Heron will eat many different things. Fish, frogs, lizards and even snakes! I always see The Great Blue Heron alone. This Great Blue Heron was spotted at Lake Woodruff on a recent trip.

In flight they will coil there very long necks into an s pattern and fly gracefully by. If you are close enough to the Great Blue Heron as it flies by you can actually hear the swoosh of it’s wings as they flap in the air! I recorded this sighting on my PDA.