Herons in Florida - November 2013

The two types of herons that were easiest to spot in Florida when we were there in November were the Great Blue Heron and the Tricolored Heron (formerly known as the Louisiana Heron).

The Great Blue Heron is a bird we see in Maryland as well and I’ve posted pictures of it before. They look the same everywhere. Some of these pictures include mangroves - a sure indication that these birds are much further south than Maryland.

The Tricolored Herons were new to me. Their range is much further south than Maryland; they thrive throughout Florida. These herons run in the water as they pursue their prey - very different behavior than the patient stalking style of the Great Blue Heron.

Great Blue Heron Reflections and a Turtle Lunch

Several weeks ago, I photographed a Great Blue Heron in the pool beside the bridge on the north side of the Centennial Lake in Maryland.

The bird was very still at first but then started moving around the edge of the pool - reflected in the water. After plunging into the water, the wings were arched to fling water off the feathers.

And then I noticed that the bird had caught something. It wasn’t until I got home and looked at the pictures that I realized it was a turtle!

Gleanings of the Week Ending August 17, 2013

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Distracted Driving Video - 35 minutes…three vignettes…the message: don’t text and drive

Fall in The National Parks: Some Other Park Fall Drives Not To Overlook - Some ideas for a fall foliage road trip

Why do we laugh? - James May with a very straight-faced explanation

Park Score Index - Compare ranking of cities based on parks

Photos from Restored Wetlands - From the Prairie Ecologist. My favorite is the paper wasp on the swamp milkweed.

Why aren’t more girls attracted to physics? - It’s all about seeing possibilities.

A History of the World: The 100 British Museum Objects - There are several images for each object and a narrative. Note the little symbols beside each thumbnail and click on the thumbnail to take a closer look; the images with a magnifying glass have annotations (I prefer to click on the thumbnail, go to full screen, then look at the annotations), listen to the short videos for the ones with the ‘play arrows.’ A bit longer audio (originally for a BBC radio program) is available as well.

How a 'Deviant' Philosopher Built Palantir, A CIA-Funded Data-Mining Juggernaut - The good and bad of the state of the art in mining information from huge amounts of data.

Great Blue Heron Highlights 2013 - From Sapsucker Pond in Ithaca NY. I didn’t watch much of the season ‘live’ this year but enjoyed these highlights.

Three Ways Cooking has Changed Over the Last 300 Years - It’s more than cooking….it’s the history of what people ate. Some ingredients are not common now…others are common but prepared quite differently.

Great Blue Heron

There was a Great Blue Heron that seemed to be posing on a platform in the small lake at Clark Gardens. At first it was a still as a statue. 

I sat down on a bench to watch. The heron moved its neck slightly then turned toward me as if acknowledging my presence - a silent communication that seemed to say ‘be still.’ 

About a minute later, the heron went to alert. He’d seen a fish in the water. About 30 seconds later, he jumped into the water - went completely under. He got his fish and was back on the platform very quickly. The slide show below shows the heron recovering his good grooming while swallowing the fish. This is a time when I wished - after the fact - that I’d been using the video feature on the camera rather than just taking pictures!