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John
Audubon writes about the
Great Blue Heron near Key West
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Great
Blue Heron
Audubon
had observed the Great Blue Heron in his travels before
coming to the Keys and begins his narrative about the
Great Blue Heron from the shoreline of the the Ohio
River.
"The
State of Louisiana has always been my favorite portion
of the Union, although Kentucky and some other states
have divided my affections; but as we are on the bank
of the fair Ohio, let us pause a while, good Reader ,
and watch the Heron. in my estimation , few of our
waders are more interesting than the birds of this
family. Their contours and movements are always
graceful, if not elegant. Look on the one that stands
near the margin of the pure stream: -see his
reflection dipping as it were into the smooth water,
the bottom of which it might reach had it not to
contend with the numerous boughs of the magnificent
trees. How calm, how silent, how grand is the scene! .
. . Satisfied that no danger is near, he lays his head
on his shoulders, allows the feathers of his breast to
droop, and patiently awaits the approach of his finned
prey. . . . "
"The
Blue Crane (the term then used by many in the United
States for the Great Blue Heron) is met with in every
part of the Union. ... I have found it in every State
in which I have traveled, as well as in all our
'Territories.' It is well known from Louisiana to
Maine. . . . It is a hardy bird, and bears extremes of
temperature surprisingly. . . ."
Audubon
write more than eight pages on the Great Blue Heron in
his Ornithological Biography. He mentions observing them
in Florida several times in terms of their nesting and
breeding habits and provides an account of a Great Blue
heron shot in Florida.
"
. . . While on the St. John River in East Florida, I
shot one of these birds, and on opening it on board,
found in its stomach a fine perch quite fresh, but of
which the head had been cut off. The fish, when
cooked, I found excellent, as did Lieutenant Piercy
and my assistant Mr. Ward, but Mr. Lehman would not so
much as taste it. . . . "
Audubon
also wrote that while in Key West he collected several
live young Great Blue Herons. In present day Key west
fishermen are cautioned when filleting fish not to feed
fish carcasses to Pelican and herons. Audubon's discovery
about an emaciated heron would seem to bear this
out.
".
. . The number of fishes, measuring five or six
inches, which one of the birds devours in a day, is
surprising: Some which I kept on board the Marion
would swallow, in the space of half an hour, a
bucketful of young mullets; and when fed on the flesh
of green turtles, they would eat several pounds at a
meal. I have no doubt that, in favourable
circumstances, one of them could devour several
hundreds of small fishes in a day. A Heron that was
caught alive on one of the Florida Keys, near Key
West, looked so emaciated when it came on board, that
I had it killed to discover the cause of its miserable
condition. It was an adult that had bred that spring;
her belly was in a state of mortification, and on
opening her, we found the head of a fish measuring
several inches, which in its undigested state, had
lodged among the entrails of the poor bird. How long
it had suffered could only be guessed, but this
undoubtedly was the cause of the miserable state in
which it was found.
Gteat
Blue Heron photo courtesy of South Florida Water Management
District
CLICK on image for larger representation
Additional
information about the great blue heron may be found by
following the link below to the Florida Breeding Bird
Atlas. The Atlas, a collaborative effort of Audubon of
Florida, the Florida Ornithological Society, and the
Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission
provides information of general status, habitat, and
status of breeding species in Florida.
http://wildflorida.org/bba/GBHE.htm
Additional
information about the great blue heron may be found by
following this link to eNature.com
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