Great Blue Heron Visits the Habitat

The most recent post showed a Louisiana (or Tri-colored) Egret that I photographed while in Tampa, Florida, last year. So, you might ask, has an egret ever visited the Colvin Run Habitat? Three years ago, on a bright sunlit morning, a Great Blue Heron arrived, clearly looking for ornamental fish that might be in the water tub. The heron that reside in Northern Virginia have learned that the suburban fad is to stock garden ponds with ornamental fish. Not your typical bird feeder, but the heron do appreciate the fish. Unfortunately for this specific heron, I do not stock the fish in this tub.

For reference, the top of the water pump is about 50” making this clearly a great blue heron. As soon as he saw me in the window he took off. The last photo shows the full wing span of this impressive bird.