[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: Heron behavior



>Folks,
>         Bob Olthoff, Marilyn Mestphal, and I birded Henderson County today.
>On 4 seasons Marsh in Hendersonville, which is about 98% frozen, we found a
>Great Blue Heron.  This is not at all unusual, but this bird was sitting on
>the ground in the snow of the frozen marsh area.  A quick glance at a
>distance, the bird almost looked like a goose or loon sitting on the ground.
>The 3 of us all agreed,  that in our combined years of birding, we have
>never seen a Great Blue sitting on the ground with its legs tucked under
>it's body in this manner. The bird appeared to be alert, and healthy.  I
>will check again tomorrow to be sure it is not injured.
>         Any comments about this behavior would be welcome.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Wayne
>Wayne K. Forsythe
>245 Stonebrook Drive
>Hendersonville, N.C. 28791
>wforsythe@a-o.com
>828-697-6628

*******

WAYNE . . .

I've seen this behavior occasionally in Great Blue Herons, and always 
in cold weather. The legs of a heron have a lot of surface area, and 
since they're unfeathered they radiate lots of heat. It's certainly 
been cold enough in the Carolinas for the past few weeks to warrant 
tucking in one's legs. :-)

Happy Birding,

BILL

-- 

**********

BILL HILTON JR., "The Piedmont Naturalist"
Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History
1432 DeVinney Road
York, South Carolina 29745
USA

e-mail: <mailto:hilton@hiltonpond.org>

Voice: (803) 684-5852

eFax: (503) 218-0845

Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History is a 501(c)(3) 
non-profit research and education organization, so all in-kind or 
monetary gifts to the Center and to "Operation RubyThroat: The 
Hummingbird Project" are tax-deductible.

The Center also hosts the "Nature Study Network," an Internet list 
devoted to the study of interconnections among plants, animals, and 
their habitats.

Please visit our websites:

Hilton Pond Center  <http://www.hiltonpond.org>

Operation RubyThroat: The Hummingbird Project  <http://www.rubythroat.org>


"Never trust a person too lazy to get up for sunrise or too busy to 
watch the sunset."

						BHjr.

**********