Central Ohio NatureThe Other Florida Herons
This post covers the other herons seen in Florida. Unlike the Little Blue and Tricolored which are most commonly seen in Florida and the gulf states these other herons can be seen further north. In our case as far north as Ohio. In fact In our travels we have even observed Green and Great Blue Herons north of Ohio in states such as Michigan.
While it’s amazing to see a Great Blue Heron spear large fish and than undertake the seemingly impossible task of swallowing it (not always successfully), the herons in this post have their preferences but will eat just about anything that gets too close. Black and Yellow-crowned Night Herons can be observed feeding during the day as well as at night but as their name implies they prefer the night. And yes, I did say spear, as most herons often spear their prey rather than grabbing it with their bill. What follows, as the heron goes through a multi-step process to manipulate and position the fish so that it can be swallowed head first, is fascinating to watch.
Hillsborough River, FL.
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As mentioned in a previous post, a canoe is a good tool to use when observing birds that make their living along the shoreline of various bodies of water and we certainly found that to be the case for the birds in this post. An added plus is the beautiful areas that we get to explore even when the birds aren’t present.
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Silver River, FL. (Donna)
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Silver River, FL.
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Hillsborough River, FL.
Payne’s Prairie SP, FL.
Myakka River SP, FL.
Myakka River SP, FL.
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Alligator Lily, Hillsborough River, FL.
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Myakka River, FL.
Immature Black-crowned Night Heron, Hillsborough River, FL.
Myakka River SP, FL.
Silver River, FL.
Myakka River SP
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Myakka River, Myakka River SP.
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We hope you’ve enjoyed this brief introduction to the other Florida herons. We find looking for them, as well as observing them once found, to be endlessly entertaining. Thanks for stopping by.
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Central Ohio Nature 
Gorgeous, as usual. Today’s the first time I downloaded a picture – wow – 2MB hi-res. Who knew?
G
On Tue, Apr 21, 2020 at 7:47 AM Central Ohio Nature wrote:
> centralohionature posted: “This post covers the other herons seen in > Florida. Unlike the Little Blue and Tricolored which are most commonly seen > in Florida and the gulf states these other herons can be seen further > north. In our case as far north as Ohio. In fact In our travels we ” >
Glad you are enjoying the pics!
I love that alligator lily, and of course all the herons.
Likely a hold over from our time living on the water, but heron of all varieties are some of my absolute favorite birds. You’ve done them justice. Thanks for posting.