Gary Helm
Great Blue Heron
The Great Blue Heron is a familiar sight to most
Floridians. It is a permanent resident of wetlands
throughout the state. Widespread and familiar (though often called "crane"), the largest heron in North America. Often seen standing silently along inland rivers or lake shores, or flying high overhead, with slow wing beats, its head hunched back onto its shoulders. Highly adaptable, it thrives around all kinds of waters from subtropical mangrove swamps to desert rivers to the coastline of southern Alaska. With its variable diet it is able to spend the winter farther north than most herons, even in areas where most waters freeze. A form in southern Florida (called "Great White Heron") is slightly larger and entirely white.
I found this one in my backyard! Lake Wales, Florida.
Great Blue Heron
The Great Blue Heron is a familiar sight to most
Floridians. It is a permanent resident of wetlands
throughout the state. Widespread and familiar (though often called "crane"), the largest heron in North America. Often seen standing silently along inland rivers or lake shores, or flying high overhead, with slow wing beats, its head hunched back onto its shoulders. Highly adaptable, it thrives around all kinds of waters from subtropical mangrove swamps to desert rivers to the coastline of southern Alaska. With its variable diet it is able to spend the winter farther north than most herons, even in areas where most waters freeze. A form in southern Florida (called "Great White Heron") is slightly larger and entirely white.
I found this one in my backyard! Lake Wales, Florida.