July 2026 Natural Mystery Answered

Our July Natural Mystery was an unusual presentation of a usually familiar track. Two of our Lead Facilitators, Adrian Iacovino and Kirsten Welge, sorted through the clues and both identified the animal that left this track and what is distinctive about this individual.

As Adrian explains:

"This is a Great Blue Heron with a track presentation where its right foot is not registering the hallux/toe 1. Most likely, it has only a stub of toe 1.”

Both Kirsten and Adrian outlined their multi-factor reasoning for this being a heron track, considering overall track structure, size, morphology details, and habitat. Here is what they shared.

Both note that this track is just over 4” (10 cm) long. As Kirsten shares, “That's huge, and rules out anything smaller than goose, turkey, or heron.” While this isn’t an exhaustive list of bird tracks in this size range, it covers the likely candidates. Crane, pelican, and eagle tracks, for example, could all be in this size range. But cranes don’t show up in this location; pelicans only come through during migration; and eagle tracks have much a different appearance.

Both noted that the toes appear smooth and straight, with slender toenails. Kirsten explains that this rules out turkey (or eagle), which would show bulbous, segmented toes and different nail structure; and webbed tracks, which would show curved, knuckley toes and a different nail structure.

Adrian points out that the habitat—mud flats by the river—is a great match for heron.

Based on the structure, size, morphology, and habitat, they correctly conclude that this is a heron track. Adrian notes that toe 1 is not registering and most likely missing, while Kirsten goes into some detail discussing the unique morphology of this track:

“Heron tracks are classic bird tracks and they typically show a long, straight hallux pointing backwards. So where is this heron's hallux?

In bird feet, the digits vary by the toe: toe 1 has two phalanges (including the claw), toe 2 will show 3 distinct phalanges, toe 3 has 4, and toe 5 has five. Additionally, in a typical heron track:

• The hallux is set towards the center of the body when compared to toe 3, and measures around 2 1/4"" inches (including its slender claw).

• Toe 4 is longest and acts as an ""outrigger"" to support the heron as it stalks its prey.

In this track, the leftmost toe shows three distinct phalanges, and is shorter than the rightmost toe. If the leftmost toe is toe 2, we're looking at a print of the right foot. Toe 4 is acting as the outrigger. And that deep mark just below the end of toe 2, measuring only ¾" long, falls at the place where the hallux would begin to register off of the palm of the heron. I can't speak to the cause, but this hallux appears to be mostly amputated."