Ohio Outdoors: ‘Blue’ skies herald spring

There are many indications that spring is almost here in Portage County. Not only have we had wonderfully warm weather lately, but crocuses, harbinger of spring, and skunk cabbage are blooming. Animals are shedding their heavy winter coats. Winged travelers are returning from southern climes and building or repairing nests. Spring is definitely close.

One feathered friend that signifies the arrival of spring in Portage County is the Great Blue Heron. ‘Great’ is an accurate descriptor as they are the largest and most common herons in North America. They stand over four feet tall with a wingspan of around six feet. A full grown adult weighs five to six pounds.

Great blue herons are monomorphic, meaning that males and females have the same coloration and markings. Despite their name, they are mostly gray. The reason they are referred to as ‘blue’ has to do with the way light interacts with the pigment in their feathers. Their pigmentation is actually diluted black. When light hits the pigment it causes a shimmering effect leading to a blueish undertone earning them the moniker of ‘blue’. There is a subspecies of great blue heron that lives in Florida that is completely white.

These large birds can be found in just about any Portage County body of water. They stand in the shallows of slow moving or still waters waiting for their next meal to come along. To the fish, frogs, snakes, salamanders, and snails in the water, the herons’ thin legs resemble cattails or grasses. If they look up, the white and gray-blue feathers of the bird’s underside resemble the sky above. As long as the heron is still, the prey is unaware the bird is even there. With good timing and a lightning-fast strike, the prey is speared by a six-inch-long beak and swallowed whole, head first.

Although herons hunt alone, they nest together in large rookeries or heronries. Northeast Ohio is blessed with several rookeries where people can observe these magnificent birds. The males carry sticks to the female who constructs the nest in a tall tree usually in or near the water. The same nests are used year after year and grow over time as each spring the parents repair and add on. A first-year nest is usually about two feet wide, but after several seasons they can grow to four feet across.

Once the nest is ready, the female will lay an average of three to five eggs. Both parents take turns incubating the blue-green eggs for about a month. Once the eggs hatch, the parents tag team feeding their offspring until they fledge, (become proficient flyers), at around 2 months. 

After the nest is empty, Great Blue Herons stick around until well into autumn. As colder temperatures threaten to freeze the shallow waters where they do most of their hunting, the birds will head south. They will winter somewhere in the southern US, Mexico, Central America, or even the Caribbean. When northern waters thaw and skunk cabbages bloom again, these majestic birds will head north, gracing us once again with their presence.  

If you wish to observe a Heronry please observe proper etiquette including:

• Be respectful of the birds and other observers.
• Be sure to pull completely off the road.
• Be careful not to leave litter or debris that may harm the birds or the ecosystem.
• Be diligent not to get too close or make loud noises which may disturb the birds. Keep dogs away.

Portage County area heronries include the Bath Road Heronry in nearby Cuyahoga Valley National Park located on Bath Road between Riverview and Akron-Peninsula. There is a wide pull-off for parking. 

There is another heronry on West Waterloo Road in Akron between Main Street and Ley Drive close to the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath. There is no good parking for this one although it can be seen while driving past on Interstates 224/277.