The only heron that can be found over most of the U.S. is the great blue heron. It breeds in all the contiguous states with exceptions only in parts of some western states and some areas of California. It also breeds in much of Canada, and is a year-round resident in much of its U.S. range.
Great blues are often referred to as “cranes,” and they are the largest of the North American herons. They stand nearly 4 feet tall; their wing span is 72 inches. They are gray blue with white forenecks, which are black-streaked. They have black stripes above their eyes, and, in breeding plumage, long plumes on their heads.
Like the other heron species, great blues feed by wading in shallow water and stalking fish, their primary food source. It is not unusual to see a great blue spear a fish with its long bill.
Great blues can be seen in wet fields and along roads where water is standing. They are usually easy to find by driving around DeGray Lake. One day last week, we saw two of them in the edge of the water along the Highway 7 rec area peninsula. Another one was standing on a point of land in the Caddo Bend area.
We see great blues at the Arkadelphia oxidation ponds frequently, but there is no guarantee that one will be there. When they are, we are unable to approach them very closely. They fly away even though the other herons that are present stay where they are or simply move farther away from us.
During the 2006 Christmas Bird Count, the Arkadelphia count included 20 great blues, and the 2007 count found 24 of them. That is in a circle with a seven-mile radius and centered in downtown Arkadelphia. Only a small part of the lake is in the count circle, and many of the birds are found in fields, at the ponds or are seen flying overhead.
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s web site has the following “cool facts” about great blue herons:
• The white form of the Great Blue Heron, known as the “great white heron,” is found nearly exclusively in shallow marine waters along the coast of very southern Florida, the Yucatan Pennisula and in the Caribbean. Where the dark and white forms overlap in Florida, intermediate birds known as “Wurdemann’s herons can be found. They have the bodies of a great blue, but the white head and neck of the great white heron.
Although the great blue heron eats primarily fish, it is adaptable and willing to eat other animals as well. Several studies have found that voles (mice) were a very important part of the diet, making up nearly half of what was fed to nestlings in Idaho. Occasionally a heron will choke to death trying to eat a fish that is too large to swallow.
Great blue herons congregate at fish hatcheries, creating potential problems for the fish farmers. A study found herons ate mostly diseased fish that would have died shortly anyway. Sick fish spent more time near the surface of the water where they were more vulnerable to the herons.
It is not difficult to identify great blues; the only other heron species anywhere near their size is the great egret. Great egrets are always white all over, and, as long as you aren’t in south Florida, great blue herons are not white.
Make a point to look for great blue herons if you haven’t seen one. Drive around DeGray Lake, and you’ll surely see one or more, especially early in the morning or late in the afternoon. Most birds are inactive during the hottest part of the day. Let me know if you simply can’t find one, and I’ll see if I can help you find a good location.
By the end of October, most of the summer-resident herons will be gone from the Arkadelphia area, but great blues will be around all winter. The only birds they might be confused with in winter are sandhill cranes, which are rare winter visitors in Arkansas. They are worthy of mention, though, because six of them spent several weeks on the Clark farm at Gum Springs this past winter.
Sandhill cranes are gray all over with red crowns. Their feathers droop over their rumps like “bustles.” They may be somewhat regular in winter in this area; we have had reports of sightings in Clark County for the past few winters. I once saw 24 of them flying over the oxidation ponds. For a time, that was a record number for the state, but it has since been surpassed.
Keep me posted and good birding.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Dolores Harrington, who formerly wrote for the Siftings Herald, will contribute “For the Birds” periodically. Report sightings by leaving your name and phone number at the newspaper office, 246-5525, or e-mail: doloresh@suddenlink.net. Harrington will return your calls as soon as possible.
