Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea)
By Lisa Graham
The Little Blue Heron is NOT a bird you will see in your backyard, unless your backyard contains an estuary, stream, swamp, or tidal flat, and you live east of the 98th meridian. Austin is west of the 100th meridian, so you’ll need to do a little traveling to see this bird.
It’s worth the trip, though, as this waterfowl is beautifully colored in dusky blues and purples – at least as an adult. When immature, they are white, much like their close relative, the Snowy Egret. While young, they often spend time with the Snowy Egret fishing and taking advantage of the protection from predators that being in a larger group provides. The Little Blue Heron can be distinguished from the Snowys by their slow, deliberate movements and their greenish legs. These birds wait for their prey to approach them, rather than moving around more frantically like other herons.
Their coloring is distinct – with a purple/maroon and neck, and a slate-blue body. Their bill is black at the tip and pale blue at the base. Like the Snowy Egret, they have yellow eyes. They tend to congregate in smaller numbers at the edges and corners of the body of water hunting the small fish and amphibians they feed upon. At times they may also feed on crustaceans, grasshoppers, dragonflies, and other invertebrates. They are considered to be fairly small – rarely growing beyond 29 inches in length and weighing less than a pound.
When courting, the male will point his bill upward while extending and retracting his neck. Both the male and the female will pull and shake branches while raising the feathers along their head, neck, and back. Once mated, they build a nest of twigs and sticks lined with greener vegetation, generally alongside other waterfowl. If you’re looking for them in a rookery, scan the edges. The female constructs the nest with the male providing the materials. Egg clutches are 3 to 4 eggs that will incubate up to 23 days; the nestlings will remain for up to 49 days. Nestlings will also compete aggressively for the food their parents provide, with older chicks sometimes killing the younger.
Little Blue Herons tend to be silent – squawking when startled. When nesting, they will croak or scream within the colony. They will also attack others of their species over food and nesting.
These birds avoided the hunting crazy in the early 20th Century when feathered hats were all the rage. They don’t have any showy plumes like other herons and egrets, and their dark coloring was not as much in demand.
Take a trip to the upper Texas coast anytime during the year, and you’ll have the opportunity to spot this beautiful heron.
Compiled by Lisa S. Graham. Sources include All About Birds (Cornell) and Audubon Field Guide.
Photo credit: Etienne Artigau, Macaulay Library.
