Sure, mist-nets are designed to catch small birds. That doesn't mean larger birds can't find their way into them, though!
As Mariamar did a net check this afternoon, she came across an unexpected bird. A Green Heron! With some careful maneuvering, we were able to extract the heron and admire it briefly before releasing it. We made sure to keep its deceptively long neck under control, so that it didn't turn our eyeballs into an afternoon snack.
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| Green Herons are ambush predators, relying on stealth and camouflage to strike down their prey. They are Neotropical migrants, with the majority of North American breeders spending the winter in the tropics. Whether this is a local or a recently arrived trans-Gulf migrant, no one knows. |
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| Lori poses with the heron, a nice change of pace to our never-ending line of songbirds. |
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| This freshwater wetland in Unit 4 ANERR is home to Green Herons in the breeding season, and backs up to the net where the bird was caught today. |
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