Great Blue Heron

 

On 9 July 2020, along with American White Pelicans, Erika and I counted 60 Great Blue Herons. We were at the estuary formed by McAllister Creek as it enters the Nisqually estuary below the Nisqually national wildlife refuge. These herons breed found across North America from Alaska and southern Canada to the Mexican border and Baja California and Cuba. They winter along the coasts and south to northern South America. They mostly eat fish, but also take amphibians, invertebrates, reptiles, mammals, and birds (Vennesland and Butler 2020). I have often said that, because of low avian survival rates, one should avoid the bird line at the reincarnation center. Perhaps a worse choice would be the line to be reborn as an estuary fish. Note in the second image four Double-crested Cormorant have also joined the feast.