While I was working on my Green Heron article for Utah County Birders newsletter, from time to time I had to leave the laptop to go do other things so my three oldest boys decided to help out with my article. In fact, they decided to write their own articles about the Green Heron. I've included them after my article.
Green Heron
Butorides virescens
by Kristin Telford
photos by Nichole Telford
I said previously I’d write about the Green Heron so here we go.
I
was not a birder while I was growing up in Western Oregon. I became a
birder in Utah about a decade ago. I didn’t realize how many amazing
birds I missed in Oregon until I started visiting as a birder and saw
birds I didn’t see in Utah. One of those birds is the Green Heron.
Smaller than Black-crowned Night Herons, which we do find in Utah, Green
Herons are… you guessed it… green. Well, mostly. Their backs are green.
The tops of their heads are dark. They have a beautiful chestnut
colored neck and front. Juveniles don’t have as much of the striking
contrast in color. They are duller with spots on their wings and some
streaking down their front.
Like
Black-crowned Night Herons, Green Herons will sit hunched up with their
neck tucked into their shoulders. Great Blue Herons will sometimes tuck
their necks in but will also stretch them up or out. Great Blue Herons
are also more noticeable when standing by a pond or stream, due to their
size and coloring. Green Herons blend in with the greenery around them
and aren’t as easy to spot.
They
often are found around ponds and streams where they will hunt for small
fish. Where a Great Blue Heron will stand in the water and dart its
head in for fish, a Green Heron will often stand on a log or bank of the
stream to dart its head in. Another trick a Green Heron might do is to
bait the fish. It will drop something on the surface of the water to get
the fish to come up and when they do… dart and snap. Besides fish,
Green Herons will also eat amphibians, some reptiles, crustaceans, bugs,
and even some rodents.
Both
male and female Green Herons will participate in nest building. Males
will start the nest and later bring sticks for the female to continue
the build. Unlike Great Blue Herons, Green Herons will not nest in big
groups. They will lay three to five eggs, once or twice a year, and
both male and female will care for the eggs and the babies after they
hatch, with defending the nest from predators and feeding the young.
Even
if I don’t see Green Herons in Utah, I always expect and enjoy seeing
them when I visit Western Oregon. They can also be found in the Eastern
part of the U.S., but I spend all my time in the West so that's where I
look.
Think
about a bird you expect to see when visiting friends or relatives and
next time you visit, take a good look at that bird and see if you can
learn something new about it.
Jr.:
The mighty hero Green Heron is forever locked in battle with
his archenemy, the Fearsome Frog. The battles range from city leveling to
completely unobtrusive, which is why they are so easily hidden. The blame has
been shifted from those battles to mundane things like winter storms, but the
birders of the world know the real truth. Being the Green Heron is a thankless
job, but it is one that is sadly necessary. From every lover of peace: Green
Heron, If you’re reading this, we appreciate the work you’ve done.
Jr. Jr.:
Green herons are often found in or around mountains. Bats
can often be found sleeping upside down on the roof of the green heron. Some
green herons can link together spanning multiple miles. The largest of which is
a whopping 426 miles long. People often travel long distances to enter and
marvel at the most exotic green herons whose most common feature is stalagmites
and stalactites. These are formed by minerals that pass through the roof of the
green heron being carried by water. Green herons can last hundreds of years and
some contain ancient bird drawings by people from long ago. So go visit a green
heron near you today.
Lucky:
Mwahahahaha, I have usurped the throne of the green heron,
just kidding the only reason I’m writing is this is so that my mother will
think I’m contributing. I’m actually about to start playing video games.
Goodbye. Never mind, my plans have changed, I only have time to finish updating
a game that I hope to play. Goodbye… again.
I'll be honest. Their articles are more entertaining but I decided not to use them for Utah County Birders. My article has more facts. However, there was one year for the newsletter that went out on April 1 that Jeremy wrote a Bird of the Month article about a fictional bird (not a snipe- those are real) as an April Fool's joke.
