Recently we’ve been having a bit of discussion about the Great Blue Heron. It started when I asked the artist to make the tattoo of the heron ‘bluer’ so that’s it clear what it is. She responded that it is often more gray than blue, which is true. But our project needs his bluest moments. Sibley’s points out it even has a white morph that looks more like an egret. Nevertheless, I persisted. In preparation for our awesome nature journals Jon and I carved 170 sticks with beaver chews for the bindings this week at my parents property in the sierra foothills. It’s going to be wonderful!
Meanwhile, Rusty Cohn of Napa captured the perfect moments yesterday, with more proof that beavers are great blue heron helpers.
The Great Blue Heron is there to eat the fish, which are there to eat the invertebrates, which are there because of the beaver dam and constant digging in the mud. It’s what makes articles like this possible.
Beavers save Great Blue Heron nesting ground
Beavers and Great Blue Herons might seem like unlikely bedfellows, but a recent beaver-led construction project on the grounds of a nature center in New York is proving yet again that symbiosis can be oh so satisfying.
The forested grounds of Sterling Nature Center, nestled along the shore of Lake Ontario in Sterling, NY has long been a haven for local wildlife and nature-lovers. It wasn’t until the early 1990s however, when group of beavers settled along a creek there and constructed a dam, that the park would welcome its most popular inhabitants — dozens of Great Blue Herons.
As it turns out, the 80-acre pond and defoliated trees which resulted from the beaver dam created an ideal fishing ground for the birds, and as many as 65 herons chose the spot to hatch their young. The beavers were happy; the birds were happy; and, thanks to the crowds they drew, the nature center was happy too.
This is just the time we’d see Great Blue Herons at our beaver ponds, because it’s summertime and the living is easy. Which animals are visiting the beaver pond near you? You better go see for yourself.
