The Great Blue Heron is with us year round. It eats almost anything it can swallow: fish, voles, frogs. But how does it find food in the winter when frogs are hibernating, voles are under snow, and fish are under ice?
If the truth be told, Kootenay Lake does not freeze over — at most it has a bit of border ice in the coldest weather. However, the smaller, shallower, lakes around it do freeze over, and they present the heron with problems.
This last weekend I watched a half-dozen or so herons ice fishing. They were monitoring leads in the ice. It was the first time I had noticed this winter activity.
Two out of a number of Great Blue Herons watch for fish at a lead.
Another example of how Nature turns problems into solutions.