I saw this Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias a couple of days ago at the edge of a small pond in the vicinity of Creekside Church in Waterloo. It is in the prime of its nuptial finery and ready to mate.
It was fishing successfully and snagged its prey with repeated strikes, but the fish it was catching were pretty small and it would need a good deal to satisfy its appetite.
It will not be long before we hear the chorus of Spring Peepers Pseudacris crucifer and other amphibians as they awaken from winter hibernation, providing herons and other birds with a new range of opportunities to satisfy a hungry appetite.
I am not quite sure what this gyration signified; perhaps the bird was just limbering up or maybe trying to dislodge something stuck in its throat.
In any event I watched this heron for several minutes and it was quite wonderful to watch it going about the business of survival, to equip itself for a healthy and productive breeding season ahead.
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