How do Great Blue Herons manage to stay warm when it’s bitterly cold outside?
Yesterday morning was cold and windy and the beaver pond was iced over again. As I scanned the area, looking for activity, I noticed this Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) perched on the limbs of a fallen tree in a back area surrounded with undergrowth. He was hunched over with his wings wrapped tightly around himself and he seemed to be doing his best to maintain his body heat.
When I moved a little, he lifted his head slightly from his chest to look in my direction. Eventually he decided I was not a threat and he placed his bill back on his chest, between the feathers, and resumed his rest. Perhaps he was sleeping, though it seemed to me that the perch was a bit precarious for serious sleeping.
A few hours later, after it had warmed a bit, I saw a heron flying in the distance. Perhaps it was this blue heron, who had decided that it was time to begin his day’s activities, which I am sure included finding some unfrozen water where he might be able to locate something to eat.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Mike Powell 
I always thought that they flew south because I’ve never seen one here in the winter. Maybe “south” is Virginia. That one has nice feathers.
It was about 27 degrees when I took this photo. I think they are year-round residents in my part of Virginia. Perhaps it’s because the waterways here rarely freeze over completely. We have egrets in warmer weather, but they definitely head to warmer locations a while ago.
That looks quite uncomfortable.