Here Lives the Heron
UPDATE: I talked with the Fish and Wildlife expert and told him I thought the heron was trapped in the pasture with the horses chasing it. He said if it wasn't flying, he and his gun would come investigate. So I called the husband and he told me he saw the heron next to the roadway a couple of days ago - made me feel better because the heron could indeed fly. So I called Mr. Wildlife back and he'd been speaking to other field agents (is that what they're called?). They thought the heron possibly came over for the horse dung as it may have still held grain and corn (a delicacy). Or it may have a nest nearby. In any case, he sounded very relieved that I said we believed the heron could fly. So yippee. The heron still lives.
Here's my photo of the day (two, actually):
The heron is the blue blur way out of focus in the middle of this drastically zoomed in/edited picture.
And here's the horse that was chasing it.
ORIGINAL POST: There's a heron in my neighbor's field next to our house. It's been there for several days. My husband came home from work earlier this week and it moved or squawked or something and startled him, "There's some giant bird in our neighbor's field" he said.
This morning my mother-in-law said, "Kathy! Come out here!" I threw on my tennies and she and I watched the neighbor's horses chasing the poor thing. How do I know it's a heron? I googled it and found this picture:
That is exactly what the bird looks like. This is NOT my picture of the day for the 365 Project, and in fact credit goes here where I picked it up.
So I called Animal Control and they said they don't deal at all with wildlife. The gal who called back gave me several numbers of the state wildlife office. I called and spoke to another person who said I should leave it alone (ya think?). But she is going to have one of the wildlife officers call back. I think the bird must be in trouble or it would've flown away when the horses started chasing it.
Any experts out there?
Here's my photo of the day (two, actually):
The heron is the blue blur way out of focus in the middle of this drastically zoomed in/edited picture.
And here's the horse that was chasing it.
ORIGINAL POST: There's a heron in my neighbor's field next to our house. It's been there for several days. My husband came home from work earlier this week and it moved or squawked or something and startled him, "There's some giant bird in our neighbor's field" he said.
This morning my mother-in-law said, "Kathy! Come out here!" I threw on my tennies and she and I watched the neighbor's horses chasing the poor thing. How do I know it's a heron? I googled it and found this picture:
That is exactly what the bird looks like. This is NOT my picture of the day for the 365 Project, and in fact credit goes here where I picked it up.
So I called Animal Control and they said they don't deal at all with wildlife. The gal who called back gave me several numbers of the state wildlife office. I called and spoke to another person who said I should leave it alone (ya think?). But she is going to have one of the wildlife officers call back. I think the bird must be in trouble or it would've flown away when the horses started chasing it.
Any experts out there?
posted by Kathy T. at 10:46 AM
3 Comments:
I am not a bird expert. But, I did see on the news just tonight (locally) that the wildlife is confused because of the weather patterns being downright freaky.
So, it may have been migrating and has gotten confused in flight or lost it's family.
As far as running away after the horse chased it, they aren't prey for horses so it wouldn't necessarily fly away. It does not mean that it's in trouble. But it still could be ... I just don't know.
Sorry I couldn't be of much help. But I wanted to tell you about the news story I saw about all the wildlife stuff going on because of the weather.
And that goes for insects too. Birds, rodents, etc are nesting at the wrong time of the year.
That is a heron, and unless you see it limping or running in circles, it's fine. It apparently has found something in that area as a prime food source, otherwise the horses chasing it would have caused it to disregard the whole idea entirely.
Do you have a pond or marsh nearby? That's the part that did surprise me. A heron doesn't normally go for dry fields. Then again, it is winter, so wherever it can find what it needs. As you suggested, the grains in the horse dung is much easier to digest than regular seeds or veggies.
Who knows. Without further study on your bird guest, it's hard to say.
I love Herons, we have many around here. I agree with everyone above, usually best to leave them alone. I've had them around my horses before, and I have learned that sometimes my horses just like to chase anything in their pen. My cats get a good workout sometimes :)
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