Scott Thomas, age 10, of Omaha, Nebraska, for his question:
Where does the blue heron spend the winter?
Actually there are two blue heron birds. The little blue herons stay around Florida and marshy southern regions where winters are mild. The birds that Scott sees in Nebraska must be great blue herons, perhaps mi¬grating from their nests near the arctic.
The great blue heron stands more than four feet tall, often in the water on one long leg. Soft blue is the color of his well groomed plumage and his long, swan like neck is creamy color, often with a low bib of long, hairy feathers. He has a straight, strong yellowish bill and his white head is accented with a pair of long black whiskery eyebrows. He surveys the scenery through a pair of stern, round yellow eyes.
This handsome heron is one of North America's largest native birds. When he takes to the air, his great wings spread more than six feet wide. He flies with slow, stately wing beats, with his long neck extended straight ahead and his long legs extended straight behind. When he flies overhead, you are not likely to miss him.
The great birds may fly hundreds of miles between their winter and summer homes. But for reasons unknown, they often tend to wander off course. Summer finds them along almost any marshy waterway in the United States and Canada, sometimes as far north as the Arctic. This is the nesting season and the great birds settle down in colonies of perhaps several hundred couples.
The colony is near water because herons are wading birds that feed mainly on fish and frogs. The family nest is a shaggy structure of sticks and twigs and the female lays three or four large eggs of dull blue or pale blue green. The chicks finish their schooling by mid July.
When fall comes to Canada and the northern states, the ponds and marshes begin to freeze. The herons that have summered there are unable to fish and they make their way south, where winters are milder.
The great blue herons that migrate may settle along unfrozen waterways in the far southern states. Some will select shores, anywhere from New England to southern Florida. Others will spend the winter near open waters along the Pacific coast.
Relatives of our great blue heron may be found in other parts of the world. Some of the colonies either live or visit the Galapagos Islands that straddle the equator off the shores of Equador. Others spend the winter season in marshy regions among the West Indies. Most or perhaps all of these birds depart in the spring and spread out because they need more territory to feed their growing chicks.