Tricolored Heron at Vierra Wetlands, Vierra, FL

I watch Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, Cattle Egrets, Little Blue Herons, Tricolored Herons and Green Herons which are quite common in our area. They are all in the same family and all seem to have a characteristic of being very patient. Have you just sat and watched them? When you are out birdwatching it is a habit of those in the Ardeidae – Herons, Bitterns Family to stand very still and wait for some food to swim by or to lean over and strike a pose. They freeze other than a side-to-side movement of their neck.

Herons are mentioned twice in the Bible, and only in a list of unclean birds to not eat. Leviticus 11:19 and Deuteronomy 14:18.

the stork, the heron after its kind, the hoopoe, and the bat. (Leviticus 11:19 NKJV)

the stork, the heron after its kind, and the hoopoe and the bat. (Deuteronomy 14:18 NKJV)

Here is a video of a Great Egret at Lake Parker looking for something in a tree. I strung three short videos together. Taken back in 2008.

The Herons are so patient it reminds me that I need to be more patient. So, here are some of the verses in Scripture that tell us to be patient or to wait:

Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. (Psalms 37:7 NKJV)

…I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry. (Psalms 40:1 NKJV)

The end of a thing is better than its beginning; The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. (Ecclesiastes 7:8 NKJV)

And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, (2 Timothy 2:24 NKJV)

Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) ©WikiC

Here’s a good one for us and the heron when he catches his fish:

And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. (Hebrews 6:15 NKJV)

And then one of my favorite passages that has to with waiting, even though the Eagle is mentioned instead of the Heron.

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:28-31 NKJV)

Other links:

Birds of the Bible 

Birds of the Bible – Herons

Ardeidae – Herons, Bitterns Family

*