Perhaps no wading bird in Massachusetts is more familiar than the graceful and statuesque Great Blue Heron. This species has very adaptable feeding habits, readily taking fish, amphibians, crustaceans, reptiles, and sometimes even small mammals. Its broad menu has made it a common sight at ponds, rivers, lakes, streams, marshes, estuaries, coastal bays, and meadows across the state in recent years. That hasn’t always been the case, however. A century ago, breeding Great Blue Herons were all but absent from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.