This Great Blue Heron youngster apparently is trying to figure out what he was doing wrong after he failed to catch a fish in three unsuccessful – although grandly exuberant – tries.
Youth is an accelerated learning semester for Great Blues:
In recent years, many Great Blues apparently have been postponing their migration flights. In fact, an increasing number of GBHs, especially juveniles, have been reported to over-winter in Maine as that season gets milder. This is yet another Climate Change phenomenon that we need to ponder.
Although Great Blues are our largest (hence, “great”) Herons, they’re not built for the cold. They’re painfully skinny. They can reach almost five feet in length, but usually weigh much less than eight pounds. (Images taken in Surry, Maine, on October 22, 2021.)