The great blue heron is one of the largest birds in North America. They stand about four and a half to five and a half feet tall and have a beautiful five foot long wingspan. They can be found around lakes, ponds, coastal regions and rivers. The ultimately hunt alone but do nest in colonies within tall trees.
Their diet varies in that they usually hunt for shrimp, crab and crawdads though they have been known to feed on mice and rodents. They feed their young ones by regurgitating their food into their mouths which is why they will consume four to five times what they would normally eat.
There is a regular blue heron who roams our pond at the botanical gardens for food. They hunt so elegantly due to their slow stance and quick bite. They normally swallow their food whole. Due to them being in close proximity to well traveled ponds and lakes in our area they are used to humans and are not scared away by people getting too close to them. I once was able to get about five feet away from a heron at Metson Lake in Golden Gate Park while taking photos.
You can find them during the day waiting to find their prey. They mingle right along with the seagulls, turtles and mallards sharing pond and lakes.