Great Blue Herons Information
Question: Do you know how much a great blue heron eats in a typical day?
A blue heron will eat up to 13 ounces of food on a daily basis - unless they are feeding their young. With hungry mouths to feed, they need twice as much.
Feeding Behavior
Forages mostly by standing still or walking very slowly in shallow water, waiting for fish to swim near, then striking with rapid thrust of bill. Also forages on shore, from floating objects, and in grassland. May hunt by day or night.
Diet
Highly variable and adaptable. Eats mostly fish, but also frogs, salamanders, turtles, snakes, insects, rodents, birds. Has been seen stalking voles and gophers in fields, capturing rails at edge of marsh, eating many species of small waterbirds.
Name of their nesting sites: rookery
A group of herons: heronry
How big are the nests? Up to 4’ x 4’
To learn more about great blue herons, view the field guide found on the Chesapeake Bay discover site. It includes information about its size, habitat, range, diet, and more.
Great Blue Heron (chesapeakebay.net)
Additional Resources:
https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/great-blue-heron
A blue heron will eat up to 13 ounces of food on a daily basis - unless they are feeding their young. With hungry mouths to feed, they need twice as much.
Feeding Behavior
Forages mostly by standing still or walking very slowly in shallow water, waiting for fish to swim near, then striking with rapid thrust of bill. Also forages on shore, from floating objects, and in grassland. May hunt by day or night.
Diet
Highly variable and adaptable. Eats mostly fish, but also frogs, salamanders, turtles, snakes, insects, rodents, birds. Has been seen stalking voles and gophers in fields, capturing rails at edge of marsh, eating many species of small waterbirds.
Name of their nesting sites: rookery
A group of herons: heronry
How big are the nests? Up to 4’ x 4’
To learn more about great blue herons, view the field guide found on the Chesapeake Bay discover site. It includes information about its size, habitat, range, diet, and more.
Great Blue Heron (chesapeakebay.net)
Additional Resources:
https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/great-blue-heron
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