GREEN HERON GALLERY

(Butorides virescens)

eBird provides this description of the Green Heron:  Small, dark heron with a blue-green back, rusty-colored neck and dark cap. Usually in a crouched position, partly concealed in vegetation, waiting patiently for prey. In flight, looks like an awkward crow with broad wings, neck tucked in, and legs extending just beyond the tail. Often vocal when flushed; gives a sharp “skeiw!”

I saw my first Green Heron on Sunday, June 7, 2020 at Scout Pond in Warbler Woods.  I arrived at Scout Pond at 6:45 a.m. that morning and had been there about an hour when I decided to check the tree line to the southeast of the blind.  As I returned to the blind I saw a Green Heron near the far shore.  He didn’t stay long, but I was able to get a few photos.  I hope you enjoy them!

Green Heron at Scout Pond in Warbler Woods, June 7, 2020.
A little different view of a Green Heron at Scout Pond, June 7, 2020.
This closer view of the Green Heron shows some intense eyes! Scout Pond, Warbler Woods, June 7, 2020.


“Cool Facts” About the Green Heron From All About Birds…

  • The Green Heron is part of a complex of small herons that sometimes are considered one species. When lumped, they are called Green-backed Heron. When split, they are the Green Heron, the widespread Striated Heron, and the Galapagos Heron.
  • The Green Heron is one of the world’s few tool-using bird species. It often creates fishing lures with bread crusts, insects, and feathers, dropping them on the surface of the water to entice small fish.
  • Green Herons usually hunt by wading in shallow water, but occasionally they dive for deep-water prey and need to swim back to shore—probably with help from the webs between their middle and outer toes. One juvenile heron was seen swimming gracefully for more than 60 feet, sitting upright “like a little swan,” according to one observer.
  • Like many herons, the Green Heron tends to wander outside of its breeding range after the nesting season is over. Most of the wanderers stay nearby as they search for good feeding habitat, but some travel long distances. Individuals have turned up as far away as England and France.
  • The oldest Green Heron on record was at least 7 years, 11 months old when it was found in Mexico in 1979. It had been banded in Oklahoma in 1971.