I've always thought of Great Blue Herons as rather shy and secretive,
but a trip last week to Alabama's Gulf Coast showed just how much their
behavior can change when they become accustomed to humans.

We walked down to a beach where a river flows into the Gulf of Mexico.
There the sandy shore was lined with perhaps 20 fishermen, each with a
rod and a bait pail, intent upon catching catfish. Behind the line of
fishermen stood three Great Blue Herons. I thought the herons were
waiting for a handout when the fishermen cleaned their fish, but we
soon learned that the herons were slyer than that. When a fisherman
became too intent on his fishing, started talking to a buddy, or walked
away from his rod for a moment, a heron would carefully and silently
stalk in, then make a sudden jab into a bait pail, and run away with
its prize of a minnow. These herons were not tame, but they certainly
have adapted their stalk-and-strike fishing style to a new target!

This was the most fun I've had watching birds in a long time.

Lee Rentz
Shelton, WA
lee at leerentz.com