A few years ago, I went for a bike ride on the C & O Canal near Oldtown, Maryland. During that trip, we saw lots of the “normal” birds like cardinals and chickadees but at one point on the trail, we came across a Great Blue Heron which just so happens to be one of my favorite birds. I’ve spent years trying to sneak up on this bird. Growing up they would visit a pond on my family property and I would try different tricks in an attempt to get close enough for a picture before them seeing me and leaving. It simply never happened, you just don’t sneak up on a Great Blue. It’s become kind of a game for me over the years to see just where that ‘fly away’ line is and when I cross it.
But back to the C & O Canal, as we first saw this guy I started moving slowly to get my camera out to snap at least one photo. So I snapped that first picture and now “Game on” it’s now time to see how close I can get before it flies off. One step, snap a pic. Another step, another snap of the shutter. Again the same and about 30 clicks later it was like “Okay, something isn’t right.” The Great Blue had taken a few steps but not flown away. This was by far the closest I’ve ever been to one and didn’t make sense after 20+ years of playing this game. There is no such thing as a tame Great Blue especially in an area like the C & O Canal so why wasn’t he playing?
Amazingly, this guy taught us something that day, something you just don’t think about. So, did you know that a Great Blue Heron can’t fly with a fish in their throat? Well, they can’t and this guy taught me that. After watching him so closely, it was obvious that his last meal was not cooperating. We watched as he tried to coax his catch down his throat. His throat had a strange lump and he was struggling so we decided to let him be and ride on.
On the return trip, we wondered whether he would still be there but we were happy to see he was gone and that he must have figured out how to readjust his catch and move on. To this day I wonder if he was more traumatized by us being there or maybe it made him trust humans a little more.
