Hunters In The Reeds At Hammonasset

Temperatures in the high 50s today as Paul and I spent a few minutes a Hammonasset today. Fog obscured most of the rocks and some of the choppy waves enabled the half dozen loons to play hide and seek with my camera. But it was the Great Blue Heron, typically a common bird we would only rarely give a second look, that caught our attention.

After last night's hard rain, and the south winds blowing the high tide onto the marshes, we found several Great Blue Herons at the marsh edge. One Heron laid low in the reeds, constantly darting its bill into the marshy stream at its feet. Every two attempts yielded a little wiggling fish. It was hard to believe there any fish in that marsh overflow, but here was this master fisher having a feast.


Careful viewing of this large bird shows many surprising details. The bright black and white head cap, looking like a white crowned sparrow, contrasts with the blue gray body. Black and brown patches appear on its shoulders and front. The long throat was lined with white and black stripes before mixing with its gray plumes off its chest. Even the pin feathers off the back of the head show a hint of brown and red.

A very nice bird on an incredible late December day.

--Chris and Paul