Most herons I see around the West Kootenay are grey (despite the bird’s name of Great Blue Heron); a few are bluish grey. But, now and then there is a heron that looks really blue.
I was reminded of this colour difference when visiting the Coast where I saw a heron that was strikingly blue. So, why the difference?
The main species of Great Blue Heron is designated Ardea herudias herodias. There is a subspecies found at the Coast called Ardea herodias fannini. Was the markedly blue heron seen at the Coast a fannini?
The plot thickens when one visits ebird.org and discovers that the site plots the range of both the Great Blue Heron and something they label as the Great Blue Heron (Blue form). Do these categories correspond to herodias and fannini?
That issue aside, ebird shows the (normal, and presumably grey) Great Blue Heron extending across the US and southern Canada. In BC, the Blue form is found at the Coast and occasionally in the Okanagan with one observation at Creston.
I show some examples below, but my primary question is: How often is the Blue form seen in the West Kootenay?
Here is a standard heron around here. It is distinctly greyish.
Here is the heron seen at the Coast. It is distinctly bluish.
This heron was seen a few years ago on the West Arm of Kootenay Lake. It is distinctly bluish. Was it a visitor from the Coast?
While walking around Mill Lake, Abbotsford, this morning I saw a Great Blue that was definitely blue. We were wondering if it had anything to do with breeding plumage. Most of the ones I see in this area are greyer.
I’m pretty sure I’m getting visited regularly at the marina in Kaslo by the blue form. He does look grey and does blend in well with rock formations-he looks identical to the middle picture above.