While watching the snowy egrets fishing, there was another, much more stoic bird nearby taking a bath in the same creek. When we first arrived at the creek, this great blue heron (Ardea herodias) was fishing in an area upstream from the snowy egrets. At that point, the water just came up to his knees. When I glanced back a few minutes later, the water was up to his chest. He had barely moved, so I wasn’t sure what was happening. As I watched, he went into the water further and stretched his neck out.

At this point it became obvious that he wasn’t just fishing, but I still wasn’t sure what he was doing, although I was suspicious. It was quickly confirmed when he plunged himself, head and all into the water and splashed around for a few seconds.

After the plunge, he quickly stood back up to full height, shook himself off, and began to preen. The whole thing took less than 30 seconds, but it was quite intriguing to watch. I’ve seen birds bathe before, of course, but I always find it interesting to watch. Just like people, different birds seem to have different routines for exactly what they do, but it always includes a plunge, some splashing, and finally a good preening.