Tag Archives: what do Great Blue Herons eat

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Molly Scaramella noticed this Great Blue Heron watching the flooding Garcia River. Of all the birds here on the Mendonoma coast, the Great Blue Herons seem to be unfazed by the wild and wet weather.

Molly got a photo of perhaps the same Heron on a different day, perched in a tree.

Great Blue Herons have a rather squawking sound that you can hear at this link: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Blue_Heron/sounds

They wade into the water to fish, and they hunt for rodents, insects, and even birds on land. And they can hunt in the daytime and nighttime due to photoreceptors in their eyes. They are year round residents of the Mendonoma coast.

Thanks to Molly for allowing me to share her photos with you here.

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Jean Brown recently photographed this Great Blue Heron. It was eating a Praying Mantis.

Great Blue  Herons eat a wide variety of food. They have been seen fishing for fish, frogs and salamanders. They also eat small mammals, insects like this hapless Praying Mantis and even greens.

Thanks to Jean for allowing me to share her photo with you here. To see a Praying Mantis in happier times, here's the link: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2011/10/07/two-photos-of-a-praying-mantis-from-coastal-photographer-siegfried-matull/

And to see the graceful Heron in flight, here is one of my favorite photos taken by Allen Vinson: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2012/07/06/great-blue-heron-so-graceful-in-flight/