Great Blue Heron – With recently caught BowfinArdea herodias March – Texas L=46” ...... WS=72” ...... WT=5.3 lb Order: Ciconiiformes (Herons, Ibises, Storks, New World Vultures, Allies) Family: Ardeidae (Herons, Egrets, Bitterns) Great Blue Herons forage primarily by walking slowly through water, often chest deep, and quickly striking their prey with their bill, which is adapted for both grasping and spearing. Like all other birds of the family Ardeidae the Great Blue Heron has an “S” shaped neck in which the bones of the neck are even more “S” shaped than the neck itself. This extra length of vertebrae serves two functions - (i) since the vertebrae cross from behind to in front of the esophagus, the bones can protect the esophagus during a strike and (ii) this added length allows for incredible quickness in the strike itself. Great Blue Herons eat mostly fish but will also eat amphibians, invertebrates, reptiles, mammals and birds. While most fish eaten are small (less than 12 inches) larger fish are caught and eaten whole , although this sometimes results in the bird choking to death. In this photograph, the Great Blue Heron has speared a bowfin of considerable size (2.5-3 lb). Killing this fish quickly is important for the bird since bowfins have sharp teeth and are ill-tempered fighters.
American White Pelican – Loafing Pelecanus erythrorhynchos November – Texas L=62”......WS=108”......WT=16.4 lb Order: Pelecaniformes (Totipalmate Birds) Family: Pelecanidae (Pelicans) Pelicans are very large water birds with enormous bills and pouches. In North America two pelicans exist - the American White Pelican and the Brown Pelican. Both are large but the American White is almost twice as heavy as the Brown and is one of the heaviest flighted birds (other heavy birds include swans and condors) in the world. American White Pelicans forage alone and in groups in freshwater habitats. They are well known for cooperative foraging where they encircle and trap groups of fish, drive them into shallow areas, and then, in a coordinated fashion, scoop them up with their bills.
Brown Pelican – LandingPelecanus occidentalis October – Texas L=51”......WS=79”......WT=8.2lb Order: Pelecaniformes (Totipalmate Birds) Family: Pelecanidae (Pelicans) Brown Pelicans nearly disappeared in North America from the late 1950’s through the early 1970’s due to the man made pesticide endrin entering the marine food chain. By 1963 the Brown Pelican disappeared completely in Louisiana, the “Pelican State”, and in 1970 it was declared an Endangered Species. In 1972 legislation banning or reducing the use of several pesticides was enacted and the population began to increase. In 1985 the Brown Pelican was removed from the Endangered Species list in the southeastern U.S. and by the late the 1990’s populations returned to pre-pesticide levels. Now the Brown Pelican is considered one of the great success stories in wildlife conservation. Brown Pelicans are found almost exclusively in marine habitats although this particular bird was found about 100 miles inland on a freshwater lake about one month after Hurricane Ike landed. They catch their prey not by swimming and dipping their bill in the water like all other pelicans, but rather by plunging from flight or perches into the water and catching the unsuspecting prey.
