It is gawky with a long ugly bill and legs. But it is also the unofficial bird of Lake County and one of the most recognized birds on Clear Lake. It”s the great blue heron.
Even though the great blue heron is considered a migratory bird, it lives at Clear Lake year-around. The birds are attracted to the lake because of the rich food supply.
The great blue heron is the largest heron in North America. A full-grown adult weighs up to 8 pounds, has a wingspan of more than 6 feet and stands as tall as 54 inches. They are widely spread and can be found in just about every state. When I was a boy in Minnesota we called them cranes, but the great blue heron is not a member of the crane family.
Herons are also long-lived birds. The oldest recorded blue heron lived 23 years. Most live to be 12 to 15 years. It”s a very good flyer and often can be seen flying across the lake with its slow wing beats and crooked neck.
The blue heron is an excellent predator and feeds on fish, crawfish, frogs, small animals and other small birds. Their main feeding times are at daylight and at dusk although they will feed throughout the day. They stand still for long periods of time waiting for a fish to swim past and then spear or grab the fish with its long bill. Another method of feeding is to walk slowly through the shallow water with its head stretched out looking for fish, frogs or other prey. They also seek out mice and other small rodents in fields.
Baby birds, including young blackbirds, are also prey for the great blue heron. They have even been known to fly to an osprey nest and devour the young chicks although normally the adult osprey drives them off. I observed this last year at Lakeside County Park. A great blue heron flew up to an osprey nest in a big dead tree. The male osprey, which was guarding the nest from another tree, gave a loud shriek and attacked the heron. Feathers flew everywhere as osprey struck the heron with its sharp claws. The disheveled heron flew off with a painful lesson learned.
A few weeks ago I observed a blue heron trying to swallow a full-grown coot. The bird would get one-half of the coot down its throat and then have to cough it up. It repeated this several times before giving up.
There have been cases where a blue heron actually choked to death trying to swallow a large fish. It”s not uncommon to catch an adult bass with a fresh sore on its side or back that resembles a stab wound. The chances are good it was made by a great blue heron.
Herons typically breed from March to May. They don”t mate for life and often select a different mate each year. They nest in trees and the female lays between two and six pale blue eggs. Both parents incubate the eggs, which hatch in 26 to 30 days. After about two months the young are ready to leave the nest. About 65 percent of the young don”t survive their first year.
Great blue herons are best observed from a boat and one of the better areas to spot them is from Lakeport to the Lakeside County Park. Rodman Slough also has numerous blue herons.
A few years ago I was fishing with a friend and we spotted a great blue heron standing on a dock. My fishing partner took a long look at the bird and remarked, “That”s the ugliest bird I have ever seen. What good is it anyway?”
Actually, like all wildlife, the great blue heron is an important part of the ecosystem. As long as we have plenty of herons and other birds around the lake it means that Lake County is healthy. It”s when they start to disappear that we should begin to worry.
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