Instead of thrashing around in the pond, sometimes it is better to just be still and quiet, waiting for an opportunity to arise. Like a fish swimming by. And then be ready to spring into action.
Green herons are also famous for using tools – dropping leaves or bugs into the water to attract fish, picking up and repositioning the bait as needed. Very smart. I have only seen videos of this, though. Maybe the green herons I’ve watched have had plenty of fish and didn’t need to work that hard.
Often people make up names that are meant to be descriptive but don’t really fit. There aren’t really many green feathers on a ‘green’ heron. To me their back and head feathers look more like blue, and their necks are rusty red.
Rusty striped neck and chest feathers can provide camouflage when the green herons are lurking by the edge of a pond.
Some green herons live in the Virgin Islands all year, and a few others come down for the winter. The permanent residents live in the wetlands and make nests out of sticks, either on the ground or in trees.
Usually the green herons keep their nests pretty well hidden. However, Laurel Brannick recently saw one with a nest in plain view. It was hanging out on a branch over the Francis Bay pond on St. John. Laurel was leading the regular Friday morning bird walk out there.
Though the nest seems vulnerable, being out in the open might actually make it easier to protect. And when there is plenty of water in the pond, it can be convenient to just lean down and pick up a fish for family dinner.
Gail Karlsson is the author of a photo book Looking for Birds on St. John, as well as two other books about nature in the Virgin Islands – The Wild Life in an Island House, and Learning About Trees and Plants – A Project of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of St. John. Follow her on Instagram @gailkarlsson and gvkarlsson.blogspot.com. More info at gailkarlsson.com
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