Cahooque Creek is just a few miles from my back door step and makes a for a nice little paddle when the winds are up or the tides aren’t right for exploring the area’s estuarine environments. It’s not the best paddle location for wildlife photos but occassionally you get lucky. Recently I got lucky. On my last two visits I came across a Green Heron. These little herons aren’t seen in abundance in these parts so it was a treat to see and photograph one. In fact this is the first “Greenie” I’ve had the pleasure to photograph.

The Green Heron can be found throughout the eastern United States during the summer. It is a year round resident of Central America and the northern end of South America. This small heron is unique in that it is one of the few tool using birds. It drops bait onto the surface of the water then grabs small fish that are attracted. Baits and lures used by this cleaver bird include various insects, worms, twigs, and feathers. These birds breed in swampy thickets, foraging in marshes, along creeks and the edges of ponds and lakes.