Green Heron - Florida 2018

I blogged previously on the green heron five years ago, after seeing two in Florida. My sightings were brief and my pictures not so great. 

On a recent trip to Florida I had much better luck on the green heron front. I saw more of them and got better pictures. 

The green heron is smaller than the other herons I am familiar with and tends to be stationary, sticking to one spot to look for fish or other prey, rather than walking around. In that sense, they are a little boring to watch because they do just sit there. 

By far, the best sightings for green herons was the Viera Wetlands west of Merritt Island. I saw four or more of them. All perching on sticks or branches, close to the water, at least one in the open, and the others sheltered by weeds or branches.

I saw one green heron in the Orlando Wetlands Park 

and one at the Circle B Bar Reserve.

There, I watched the heron with a man who related an incident of watching one for awhile. The heron stood stationary, and then a large dragonfly buzzed past and the heron quickly reached out with its elongated neck (which is not evident in any of these pictures) and grabbed it out of the air.