Sunday, June 22, 2014

Bath time for the Great Blue Heron

The Great Blue Heron is a regular in our lake.  I see it everyday stalking prey in the shallow water, resting on the mid-lake platform or perched atop a tree along the water edge.


One of the 'regulars' at our lake


About to eat a snake it caught


Resting on the mid-lake platform

Perched atop a lakeside tree


But this evening while I was out for a row, I saw the Great Blue Heron do something I had never seen it do before...Take a bath!


Pretty cool!



It was such a cool moment, I had to make a video.  It's less than two minutes long and a bit wobbly at the end since I was in the rowboat at the time but I think you'll enjoy it.




A Brown Thrasher provided background music as the heron cautiously cooled off in the shallow water.  Most of the splashing begins at 0:50 and again at 1:34.


A brown thrasher's melodious song accompanied the heron's splashes


When bath time was over, the heron moved over to the tiny island where the Sandhill Cranes had their nest.  The heron stayed there for a while, presumably to dry its feathers before settling in for the night on a perch in a nearby tree.


A tiny island with many visitors



To see another large bird bathing, watch my video of a Bald Eagle taking a bath in the lake.

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