June 1999

Great Blue Herons

(Ohio)

I 70 cuts almost straight across southern Ohio, from (west to east) Dayton through Columbus, over to Zanesville and St. Clairsville, then on to Wheeling, West Virginia. We were just beyond Columbus, near Lancaster, when I spied a covered bridge off to the right, just a short way from the highway. Since Freeman has a particular interest in covered bridges, we took the next exit, at the town of Buckeye Lake, and set off in search of the bridge.

(Note: this map is from National Geographic <http://www.nationalgeographic.com>, which encourages individuals to use its maps on personal, non-commercial Web pages.)

In the 19th century several locks were built in this area to connect the Lancaster Lateral Canal to the Ohio-Erie Canal. As we drove down a back road parallel to one of these locks, heading toward where we thought the bridge might be, we were both startled when something large suddenly flew up on our left. We quickly realized we were in the company of several great blue herons. I’ve seen great blues before, but only from a great distance. I was thrilled at the opportunity to see and photograph them from so close.

Though called great blue herons, at rest they look more gray than blue.

Peterson’s Multimedia Guides: North American Birds describes the great blue heron as follows: “A lean gray bird that may stand 4 feet tall … Great size and blue-gray color, (white about the head in adults), mark it as this species.”

When they fly, though, you can see how they derive their name.

“Best known of the typical herons are the very large, long-legged and long-necked, plain-hued, crested members of the genus Ardea—especially the 130-cm (50-inch) great blue heron (A. herodias …) of North America, with a wingspan of 1.8 m (6 feet) or more.”

("heron" Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
<http://members.eb.com/bol/topic?eu=41069&sctn=1&pm=1> [Accessed 25 July 1999]).

Great blue herons typically inhabit marshes, swamps, shores, and tide flats. They nest in trees or shrubs near water and forage in any kind of calm fresh water or slow-moving river. They eat mostly fish, but also frogs, salamanders, turtles, snakes, insects, rodents, and birds.

We never did reach the covered bridge because the road leading to it was closed for repairs. But since the Lancaster and Fairfield County Visitor’s Guide boasts that the area features 15 covered bridges, I’m sure we’ll be going back some time.

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