Page 12 - Clear Lake Mirror Reporter E-Edition 8-5-2015
P. 12
Page 12 • Aug. 5, 2015 Clear Lake Mirror-Reporter
Little Green Heron:
An amazing Iowa Bird
by Lowell Washburn
A recently fledged green heron swallows a leopard frog. -Photo by Lowell Washburn. It’s late summer and the season Stealthily creeping atop a bed of floating lily pads, an adult green heron hunts frogs along Clear Lake’s south shore.- Photo by
is moving on. In the mature wood- Lowell Washburn.
lands bordering Clear Lake’s south
shore, the last of this year’s crop of
green herons are leaving the nest.
Cloaked in a bizarre mix of baby fuzz
and half grown feathers, the gangling
birds aren’t much to look at -- at least
at this stage of their life. With stubby
wing feathers still unfurling, most of
the youngsters can’t even fly. It will
take another two weeks or so until the
juveniles will be on the wing. For the
time being, the inexperienced young-
sters will continue to rely on their
parents to keep them fed as they learn
to stalk and catch fish and frogs for
themselves.
Although green herons are fairly innovative tool box; utilizing feathers, herons began reaping the reward as
common nesters across much of the worms, insects and other items to lure hungry fish come to the bait. Pretty
state, most Iowans are unfamiliar fish to shallower waters. After select- amazing behavior for a supposedly
with the species. Shy and reclusive, ing a specific tool, the birds simply simple creature.
the birds spend much of their time toss the item unto the water’s surface
A fledgling green heron anxiously anticipates the delivery of its next meal. Although the still growing juveniles will remain in stealth mode, silently stalking the making sure, of course, that it stays
flightless for the next two weeks, their parents keep the birds well supplied with fish and frogs until the youngsters learn to fend vegetated margins of lakes, shallow within easy reach of their spear-shaped
for themselves. -Photo by Lowell Washburn. river backwaters and cattail wetlands. bills. The results are soon coming and
Intolerant of human intrusion, green
herons are among the most difficult
of all wetland birds to approach and
observe. And although adults display
a delightful array of color, most people
will never get close enough to view it.
The heron’s legendary wariness is
only surpassed by its seemingly supe-
rior intelligence. They are, in fact, one
of the very few animals that routinely
use tools to obtain food. Because of
their small size and comparatively
shorter legs, the green heron’s effec-
tive hunting territory is much more
restricted than for larger wading birds
such great egrets and great blue her-
ons. Green herons make up for this
physical deficit by reaching into their
