As Great Blue Herons are now returning to the heronry at Metzger Farm Open Space, it seems appropriate to share some of club member Walter "Ski" Szymanski's photos and thoughts on these beautiful creatures from past Facebook postings.
August 7, 2023 -- See those bony knees on the Great Blue Heron in my first photo here from this morning at Metzger? If you thought, "Sure, I see them", then you need to immediately reach out to the science community because you've got paranormal eyesight!
What I'm talking about is, those visible knobby structures midway up the legs on this bird that for all the world look like a mummy's bony leg knees, are not its knees. They're its ankles. Its knees are further up its legs, hidden under its feathers.
Like most birds, herons stand, walk, and run on their toes. Cats and dogs are structured this way, too. Animals with this kind of setup are known as toe walkers--kind of like some of us do when tippy-toeing downstairs late at night to snag some ice cream from the freezer hoping others in the house don't hear your stealth maneuvers. (I haven't a clue, though, why anyone would want to tip toe through the tulips. There isn't any ice cream in tulip fields.)
Anyway, the second image I took of this heron this morning hopefully provides a better visual of how the bend in this bird's leg in the process of scratching itself is at its ankle, and not at its knee.
Well, ain't that just the bee's knees!
Cheers!
Walter "Ski" Szymanski
