Great Blue Heron Stories
I grew up in Vernal, Utah, next to a creek. My sister and I spent hours playing in the creek with our nieces and nephews. We were out there year-round, as long as the weather was nice.
One day, I remember seeing a huge, blue-gray bird taking flight from the creekbed when we arrived. Its wing-beats were slow and the bird’s long legs were trailing behind.
We stopped and stared in awe.
We were with my older brother and he told us it was called a Great Blue Heron.
That is my first memory of that bird and to this day I feel lucky whenever I get to see one. I work next to a lake with a large wetland area, so I do get to see them once in a while.
They take off pretty quickly once they realize people are close to them. One time I was on a birdwatching walk and we got to walk past one that stayed where it was. It was fun to have a close look that wasn’t through a camera lens.
Great Blue Herons eat fish, frogs, and other small aquatic creatures. They choose a spot to wade in shallow water, then they freeze. They stare down into the water, then, when something swims by, they grab it with lightning speed. These birds seem to have all the patience in the world.
