Pictured here is a Great Blue Heron doing the ‘flasher pose’ on the boardwalk of the South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center. (Courtesy photos by Javier Gonzalez)
By JAVIER GONZALEZ
Herons and egrets make up an incredible family of birds which exhibit varied and interesting behaviors. I am often left amazed and surprised by some of the things they do.
Occasionally, and usually just after I’ve arrived at the SPI Birding Center in the early morning, I’ll encounter a great blue heron along the boardwalk that looks like it is in a prayer posture with wings drooping and opened wide while standing tall and facing directly at the morning sun with its throat rapidly vibrating.
At first glance, it can be quite shocking to see this bird in this way and the first thing that comes to mind is “Why is it behaving like that? Is it practicing its morning Yoga?” The thought that is what could be going on adds to the Zen of the morning’s birding experience, but there is a practical reason for this behavior.
The pose is called a “Flasher Pose” as it looks like the heron is flashing open a coat, but what actually is happening is not as perverse as the name implies. The heron is trying to heat up and irritate any parasite that might be buried deep within its plumage to the surface so that they may easily be preened off.
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