It's big and it's blue
CHECK OUT OUR PHOTOS AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS STORY -
You’ve seen it many times.
Often as you head to the Buckeye, just to the west of the Spring Street bridge. Or, you spotted it in the village park pond.
If you’ve heard a sound like a very loud, rusty railroad freight car on an even more rusty and scratchy rail - then you’ve heard it.
It’s the great blue heron of Bluffton and we have several of the birds. The Icon has photographed these solitary birds year round.
Here is a collection of those photographs. A zoom lens is required for the perfect photo, and often our zoom lens is not on the camera when we spot a bird.
The great blue is the largest North American heron. It has head-to-tail length of 36–54 inches, a wingspan of 66–79 inches, a height of 45–54 inches, and a weight of 4–7.9 pounds.
As you can imagine, its diet includes small fish. It is also known to feed on shrimp, crabs, aquatic insects, rodents, and other small mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and birds, especially ducklings.
We’ve spotted the heron along the Big and Little Riley in Bluffton and in the rural areas, the Buckeye, the pond at The Centre and the pond at the village park.
Stories Posted This Week
Friday, April 25, 2025
Thursday, April 24, 2025
- Blanchard Valley Health Foundation welcomes Sapp as Chief Development Officer
- LEO Club invitation to 5K and 1-mile walk & stroll
- Memorial bench and tree planting at Village Arboretum
- Bluffton Beavers sports roundup, April 16-22
- Pirate baseball loss vs. Fort Jennings
- Alan Garmatter is new CNB Chief Credit Officer
- Parks & Recreation Committee meets April 25
- Bad Dreams: Health implications
Wednesday, April 23, 2025
Tuesday, April 22, 2025
Monday, April 21, 2025
- ONU theater students give voice to the Ukrainian people
- Permits will be needed for overnight parking on Spring St.
- April 26 Easter for Kids event
- Anabaptist choral concert on April 27
- April 23 landscaping night at the Bluffton Sportsmen's Club-LE&W Depot
- Upcoming BPL events, April 21-26
- Marc Augsburger is 2025 Outstanding Alumni from Rhodes State College
- Pirate girls win O-G Gold track meet, Bluffton boys 2nd