Green herons in a salt-marsh estuary

More about Green herons in a salt-marsh estuary

Green herons (Butorides virescens) are year round locals in our north Florida estuaries. These are small herons and often difficult to spot while wading. The Green Heron is one of the world’s few tool-using bird species. It often creates fishing lures with bread crusts, insects, and feathers, dropping them on the surface of the water to entice small fish. Then they crouch patiently to capture the fish with their daggerlike bill.

A salt-marsh estuary is where a fresh water river empties into salt water marshes (flat areas that are covered in grasses, rushes, and sedges). These grasslands are subject to daily or occasional flooding by salt or brackish water. Green heron habitat is also along freshwater springs, rivers, ponds, and lakes further inland from the coastal grasslands.