Minnesota is nicknamed The Land of 10,000 Lakes but that does not take into account all of the rivers, streams, ponds, and marshes that you can find here. All of these wetlands make this good habitat for birds like the green heron. 
If you are looking for green herons the best place to look is habitat with shallow water. They wade through the water in search of fish, frogs, insects and invertebrates, such as the crayfish in the pictures above and below. While stalking their prey they move very slowly through the water until they get close then they swiftly dart their head forward snatching the prey with their beak.
Sometimes, when hunting, the green heron will take a page out of mankind's book and use bait to lure prey in close. To do this they drop a worm, small stick or feather onto the surface of the water and then wait for a fish to come and check out the bait. Before the fish realizes anything it is caught in the heron's long thin beak. These pictures where taken at the Maplewood Nature Center in September of 2008. Last year because of the dry conditions in the area that I live I did not see very many green herons.
Wow, it looks as though this green heron really does not want to go into the water. Maybe the water was too cold but that is probably not the problem since this pic was taken in the middle of September at the Bass Ponds. Maybe he is just afraid of what might be under the surface of that green water. dum dum.. dum dum.. dum dum dum dum dum dum.
Now these are not pictures that I took of the green heron that I saw today. He was not in a very good spot to take a pic, I would have had to shoot into the sun or wade through a pond with out my hip waders, so I did not waste the space n my card.
Everything is starting to green up here but it is not close to being this lush yet. These pics where taken at the Maplewood Nature Center back in August of last year.
Maplewood Nature Center is great habitat for green herons. The shallow lake is perfect for foraging in. Their legs are long enough that they can walk through much of the lake in search of prey. Their diet consists mostly of frogs, bugs, invertebrates, and small fish.
Besides foraging through the shallow waters green herons often catch food by ambush. When prey is near by they will stand motionless, blending into their marshy surroundings until the prey gets with in striking distance at which point they lash out with their quick sharp beak and nab their prey. Sometimes they will use tools, like sticks, feathers, or bugs, to help lure the prey into range.
Now that it is April it will not be long before the spring migration reaches Minnesota. Already migrating waterfowl have begun to move into the area and soon they will be followed by waders, raptors, songbirds and the rest.
I am looking forward to getting out to some of my favorite spots and actually getting to see a variety of bird life. One of those spots is the Maplewood Nature Center.
The Maplewood Nature Center is not very large, but it does have some really nice ponds that attract migrating and resident waterfowl.
One of the first ducks to return to the area, other then mallards who stay here year round, are the wood ducks. I have already begun to see wood ducks at several area ponds stacking out their territory.
One of birds that I frequently saw on the ponds of MCC last summer were green herons.
It is fun to watch green herons foraging through the shallow water and thick vegetation looking for small fish and invertebrates.
They slowly wade through the water their heads down and eyes on the water and when they find some prey they strike quickly with their long beak.
Sometimes you see them just sitting motionless at the waters edge waiting for an unwary prey to swim by.
There is also a small tree island in the main pond that was one of the best places that I visited last year to find fly catching birds.
The eastern phoebe is one of the most common flycatchers that we
Another frequent visitor during the summer is the eastern kingbird.
They may not be as bright as their cousins the western kingbird, which are black and yellow, but they have a great personality.
The most exciting flycatcher that I saw at Maplewood was the olive-sided flycatcher. Since we are just at the southern edges of their summer range we do not always see these birds during August, when picture was taken.
It is fun to watch them take off from where they are perched at the top of a tree and do intricate maneuvers in the air. At first you are not sure why they be making acrobatic moves while they fly but when they land if you look closely you will probably see a fly, dragonfly or bee trapped in their beak.
So here are some more of my back log of pics from the summer. These pics where taken at purgatory creek back on August 11th. I was pleasantly surprised to find an indigo bunting on this outing. Michelle really likes indigo bunting, I think that it is because of the way they kind of shimmer between black and blue depending on the light. I like them too but I would prefer a painted bunting, which would be a lifer for me. I will need to travel south though to see one of those.
I love when green herons have their crests sticking up, it makes them look like they have a mohawk. A bird with a mohawk sounds like a perfect fit for a place called purgatory creek. The funny thing is that Purgatory Creek is located in a pretty affluent suburb of Mlps. I am guessing that the creek got its name before the burb grew up around it.
A several occasions, during the summer, I got the opportunity to photograph a female wood duck who was raising a family in the wetlands that surround the creek.
The male wood duck is the perfect example of the deadbeat dad. He is around for all of the fun and games but when it comes time to incubate the eggs, or raise the chicks he is gone. He is off somewhere with the rest of the guys probably bowling or playing poker. Actually since this is in Eden Prairie he might be hanging out at the golf course.
On one of my first trips, back on July 31st, I had the privilege of being to photograph one of the herons while it was hunting in the shallow parts of the lake.
Green Heron hunt by standing very still in the shallow water and then darting forward to catch their prey in their bill.
Sometimes they even drop bait, such as worms, twigs or feathers to lure its prey with in range.
Their prey consists of fish, frogs, bugs, invertebrates and other small animals.
This heron thought that this was its lucky that day, because he caught a gigantic crayfish for dinner.
Unfortunately, for the heron, the crayfish was more then a mouth full for the bird. Although he tried for quite a while to figure out a way to devour his prize.
Fortunately for the crayfish the heron was not successful and eventually he gave up and the crayfish got away.
Still hungry the heron took off on the hunt again, slowly stalking through the muck.
It did not take him long to find something else of interest.
With a lunge he caught something a bit more manageable.
I am not sure what it was, maybe a leach or a tadpole or small fish.
Whatever it was it was a lot easier to eat then the huge crayfish.
So although he was not able to capitalize on his super catch he did not go away hungry that day.
Flycatchers, as well as other insect eating birds, were hunting in the fields and woods. There were a lot of insects besides the dragonflies to keep them busy and well fed.
The wetlands also looked like a good place to raise a family, that is if you are a wood duck that is.
Soon after hatching the young wood ducks leave the nest, which is a tree cavity or nesting box sometimes a good distance above the ground or water, and are already able to swim and dabble on the waters surface for seeds and bugs.
Green herons hunt along the shore of the water. They are often difficult to see as they stand perfectly still in the shallow water, sometimes hiding in vegetation, waiting for a fish, frog, or crayfish to come by. Then they will snap the prey up with a quick dart of their head.
The green herons larger cousin, the great blue heron, also hunts by wading through the water looking for fish. Because of their longer legs, great blue herons are the largest member of the heron family in North America, they are often able to fish in deeper water then green herons.
