Danika Comey
Ms. Overly
Science Pd 2
May 8, 2008
Great Blue Herons
One of the most rare and unique birds lives in pond areas located in the Jackson Hole area. The Great Blue Heron, also known as Ardea herodias, are found all over North America and Central America. They can also be found in the West Indies and the Galapagos Islands or places that there is water. The habitats that you can most likely spot a Great Blue Heron are in fresh and salt water marshes, swamps, flooded meadows, lake edges, and shorelines. A delicious meal for a Great Blue Heron would be tasty, small fish, mainly humans’ “expensive” fish, or the fish that they can sell for lots of money. They also enjoy shellfish, insects, rodents, amphibians, reptiles, and even smaller birds. Predators of herons are eagles, raccoons, bears, turkey vultures, and red tailed hawks. To escape from these predators, great blue herons have developed anti-predator adaptations such as camouflage. The back of this organism is darker than its belly, making it hard to spot from above and from below. It also has black feather hidden under layers of other feathers and it is has black “eyebrows” over its eyes. It also has a startling bright orange bill which becomes brighter during the mating season.
The best time to go look for a Great Blue Heron is at dawn or at dusk, although some of these birds have been noted to fish during the day and night. Great Blue Herons usually hunt alone and then go back to their populations and community at night to sleep in their nests. In their nests, the great blue herons have all their survival needs; food, water, shelter, space, and a suitable climate. They usually don’t migrate, however they may go to Central and South America if it gets too cold in North America.
The Great Blue Heron is a beautiful organism and luckily it is not endangered. This could change soon because of human development. If they keep losing their habitat due to humans and their buildings, they will become endangered. Actions like these can kill and harm the habitats of these wonderful creatures. We need to save them or else the ecosystem will begin to fail.
Ms. Overly
Science Pd 2
May 8, 2008
Great Blue Herons
One of the most rare and unique birds lives in pond areas located in the Jackson Hole area. The Great Blue Heron, also known as Ardea herodias, are found all over North America and Central America. They can also be found in the West Indies and the Galapagos Islands or places that there is water. The habitats that you can most likely spot a Great Blue Heron are in fresh and salt water marshes, swamps, flooded meadows, lake edges, and shorelines. A delicious meal for a Great Blue Heron would be tasty, small fish, mainly humans’ “expensive” fish, or the fish that they can sell for lots of money. They also enjoy shellfish, insects, rodents, amphibians, reptiles, and even smaller birds. Predators of herons are eagles, raccoons, bears, turkey vultures, and red tailed hawks. To escape from these predators, great blue herons have developed anti-predator adaptations such as camouflage. The back of this organism is darker than its belly, making it hard to spot from above and from below. It also has black feather hidden under layers of other feathers and it is has black “eyebrows” over its eyes. It also has a startling bright orange bill which becomes brighter during the mating season.
The best time to go look for a Great Blue Heron is at dawn or at dusk, although some of these birds have been noted to fish during the day and night. Great Blue Herons usually hunt alone and then go back to their populations and community at night to sleep in their nests. In their nests, the great blue herons have all their survival needs; food, water, shelter, space, and a suitable climate. They usually don’t migrate, however they may go to Central and South America if it gets too cold in North America.
The Great Blue Heron is a beautiful organism and luckily it is not endangered. This could change soon because of human development. If they keep losing their habitat due to humans and their buildings, they will become endangered. Actions like these can kill and harm the habitats of these wonderful creatures. We need to save them or else the ecosystem will begin to fail.
1 comment:
Good description of the habitat and adaptations of the Great Blue Heron! Be sure to italicize the scientific name! In addition, more information regarding the mating habits of the Great Blue Heron could have been added to increase the depth of the report!
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