WINTERING KINGFISHERS AND BLUE HERONS

     Every winter, I sometimes see a handsome male belted kingfisher or a stately great blue heron, or both kinds at once, trying to catch fish from a human-made, half-acre pond at the end of our suburban street in New Holland, Pennsylvania.  Those adaptable and hardy birds persist there until the water freezes over, which it does most winters.  

     Kingfishers and herons share shoreline habitats along impoundments and waterways, year round, throughout much of the United States to catch their food of fish, crayfish, frogs, tadpoles and other aquatic creatures.  And because of that, they share a few characteristics, though they are not related, or even look similar in build.  However, they both have bluish-gray feathering, which camouflages them around water.  And both have long, thick beaks for grabbing victims.

     Each of these attractive species is built for how it snares prey, and both are interesting to watch catching fish and other victims, each in its own way.  Kingfishers have strong toes on short legs that grasp twigs on trees leaning over water.  There they watch for prey in the water, and when a potential victim is spotted, quickly dive beak-first into it to seize the critter in their bills.  And upon making a catch, they sweep up to their perch, or another one, to ingest their prey whole and head-first.  

     Kingfishers also hover into the wind on rapidly beating wings to watch the water for prey.  They hover briskly into the wind for lift and flight control.  And when a victim is spotted, they dive head-first into the water to grab it.

     Majestic great blue herons are long-legged for wading in water, and have lengthy necks and beaks they quickly thrust out to seize prey between their mandibles.  Herons, too, swallow their victims whole and head-first, including fish too large for kingfishers to handle.  By consuming varying-sized critters in different parts of water, these kinds of birds reduce competition for food between them in the many impoundments and waterways they share.     

     When visiting an impoundment or waterway in winter, watch for these interesting kinds of birds.  They are intriguing and inspiring to see stalking prey.     

           

  

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