tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931582711937221725.post8810359746317416478..comments2023-10-10T07:06:54.536-07:00Comments on Bird Word Girl: Croak Loudly and Carry a Big StickClare McLeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13138692849875696247noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931582711937221725.post-46152178268507954332010-05-04T16:41:23.063-07:002010-05-04T16:41:23.063-07:00Before I forget, while Clare's GBH's are o...Before I forget, while Clare's GBH's are on the left coast, on the US east coast, Great Blue Heron are highly dependent on anadromous (sea-run) fish runs such as alewives and shad and blueback herring. Dams decimated our herring runs in the 19th and 20th centuries and only now are the runs starting to come back, in some rivers, and with their restoration, the great blue heron and other fish-eating birds (like osprey) are making an amazing recovery. In the 1980s it was rare to see a heron on the Kennebec in Maine, and now they are everywhere. The secret is getting the fish back, which in our case in Maine has been directly due to a program of strategic dam removal, focussing on lower river reaches.Douglas Wattshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06686351092076044875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931582711937221725.post-1118932735238286772010-05-04T16:32:20.948-07:002010-05-04T16:32:20.948-07:00Great Blue Heron are very territorial about their ...Great Blue Heron are very territorial about their fishing sites. On the Kennebec River in Augusta, Maine during the alewife run they each establish their own spots on the gravel bars and you can see how there's a dominance ritual going on as some try to spook another off what apparently, in GBH terms, is the honey spot for fishing. That's when they do that weird, rough croaking sound.Douglas Wattshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06686351092076044875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931582711937221725.post-91757101983988486272010-05-04T04:01:27.357-07:002010-05-04T04:01:27.357-07:00Not being a birder, I have no sense of the world o...Not being a birder, I have no sense of the world of Avian Sports - as you say, "a show filled with the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat". However, your great commentary and excellent photographs capture the essence of this ritual of Nature; they got me vicariously involved in the thrill. Thank you for that. The image of the heron in the hunting stance reminded me instantly of countless old-school Chinese martial arts movies that I have shamelessly enjoyed over the years... :)SUIRAUQAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17918432443330964561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931582711937221725.post-52986092151345163072010-05-03T21:09:57.407-07:002010-05-03T21:09:57.407-07:00Beautiful photographs. Great Blue Herons are my fr...Beautiful photographs. Great Blue Herons are my friends on the Kennebec River in Maine. It's hard to get close to them. But you have.Douglas Wattshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06686351092076044875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931582711937221725.post-80357529125074604082010-04-15T01:03:11.300-07:002010-04-15T01:03:11.300-07:00lovely imageslovely imagesAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com