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Great Blue Heron

Ardea herodias

Photo by joan6153
Published on Project Noah
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26.4615, -80.0728

Field Notes

Description:

Mother great blue heron downed a large fish she had stored in the nest so she could later regurgitate it and feed her babies. The second photo shows the fish sliding down her throat. Later photos show the largest of her two babies and how the mother stays close to baby.

Habitat:

Wakodahatchee Wetlands

Notes:

The nest is in a treetop that is populated by many different nesting species including other great blue herons, cormorants, anhingas and great egrets.

Reference Links:

Great Blue Heron

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (13)
HemaShah
james,do you worry about alligators?
James McNair
Hi Hema I always go on my own, well with family. The parks and sanctuaries are well set up with maps and clearly marked paths. The Viera Wetlands are actually man made, also known as the Mitch Grissom Memorial Wetlands, you can google and read about if you like. Alos google Brevard Environmentally Endangered Lands site for other walks and sanctuaries we use.
joan6153
Thanks for the compliments, James and Ashley!
HemaShah
Joan, thanks so much for all the info. I will be asking more questions after I read a little. :)
HemaShah
Thanks, James. When you go out to these parks do you take a guide with you or take off on your own?
joan6153
Hi Hema, My favorite place to tour the Everglades park safely and see alligators is to take the Shark Valley tram tour. It is a guided tour of an area of the park where I have seen a lot of birds, gators, fish, etc. The bad news is that it is a 4-hour drive from Disney. This is the link: http://www.sharkvalleytramtours.com/tramtours.html I am familiar with wetlands parks in South Florida (Boca Raton, Delray Beach) but not in the Disney area though I have heard that there are wonderful parks in the area of Lake Okeechobee in central Florida. This photo is taken from a wetlands park in Delray Beach where you can see almost all of the Florida wading birds, occasional alligators and many other Florida species all by taking an hour walk on a 1 mile boardwalk. It's one of my favorite places. Let me know if you need more info.
James McNair
Try the Viera Wetlands in Viera Florida about 45 mins to an hour from where you are. Near Melbourne FL. I see Gators and all kinds of birds there all the time. Also the pictures are amazing...superb job!
HemaShah
Much as I am excited about alligators, scared too. They can chase real fast.
AshleyT
This is an awesome spotting, Joan! And Hema, alligators will be everywhere! They aren't many anacondas in the everglades, and they don't stay in the open. There are more burmese pythons, but they are still really hard to find. Most all of the refuges should have plenty of alligators though :)
HemaShah
Hi Joan, I am visiting Lake Beuna Vista in May and staying at the Disney World Resort. My question to you is how far is the Everglades Park from there and do you recommend any safe wild life refuges? i want to see Gators and Annocondas,but am scared of them too!

Spotted for Missions

Animal Young of Florida
Mission
Nests, hives, bowers, webs & other animal architecture
Mission
Florida Wetlands
Mission
Hunters & Animal Food Habits
Mission
Florida's Flora & Fauna

Tags

Photographed
PublishedMarch 5, 2014

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