Green Herons at the Toyota Dealership

I brought my camera with me when I took my car for servicing at Toyota of New Bern. Since it’s located within the Croatan National Forest, I figured there might be some possible bird action nearby. My hunch was right!

Instead of sitting inside waiting for my car, I took a short hike that brought me to the back of the gigantic building. There, between vast areas of asphalt and parked cars, was a large freshwater pond that looked promising…

Instead of waiting at the dealership for my car to get serviced, I took a walk. To my surprise there's a pond in back of the huge building where I watched two Green Herons.

When I got closer to the water, I spotted a small, hunched wading bird foraging near the water’s edge. I recognized the Green Heron (Butorides virescens), a bird that normally hides in vegetation.

I started taking pictures immediately in case he flew away. When I took a break, I noticed there was a second Green Heron foraging as well. Maybe this was a mating pair, male and female.

Each Green Heron continued foraging separately, slowing moving around the pond’s perimeter. The following slideshow shows their hunting technique. This involves standing motionless staring into the water, often for extended periods of time, waiting for small fish to approach within striking range…

When the heron spots a possible prey, it lowers its body and stretches its long neck out horizontally, revealing the white streaks of foliage that are ordinarily out of sight…

Thrusting its entire body into the water, the heron snags an unsuspecting fish!

The heron brings its catch ashore…

…raises the feathers on its head …

… then flies to a nearby drainage area carrying the fish…

The fish disappears down the bird’s throat and the Green Heron returns to the pond for more fishing…

I can’t help wondering why this bird was given the name “Green Heron.” Where’s the green? If you use your imagination, you might see some green plumage on the bird’s iridescent back…

And if you’re curious about what a juvenile Green Heron looks like, here’s one that I encountered in the summer, foraging alone in a North River marsh…

But where would you find a Green Heron in Beaufort? The most likely place to see one is on a dock, either along Taylor’s Creek or Gallant’s Channel, particularly in the fall. Here’s a slideshow of Green Herons fishing from perches or click here for more photos…