Black-crowned Heron foragingBlack-crowned Heron foraging

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge is one of my favorite Utah locations to photograph birds, I was there two days ago and the south section of the auto tour route had the most action because it currently has the most water. I spotted this Black-crowned Night Heron that was almost hidden by the vegetation but as soon as I stopped it darted towards some open water in foraging mode. After a bit the heron appeared to just be resting so I left it to doze.

Black-crowned Night Heron in flight over the Bear River Migratory Bird RefugeBlack-crowned Night Heron in flight over the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge

Further down the road I spotted a Pied-billed Grebe on a nest and I stopped to photograph it, there was a dark SUV coming up behind the pickup and as it drew closer I could see that the Black-crowned Night Heron had taken flight and was flying towards me in nice light. I was able to get a series of about 15 images of the heron before it passed the vehicle I was in.

Black-crowned Night Heron Fly ByBlack-crowned Night Heron Fly By

I am almost certain that the driver of the SUV with Washington plates didn’t mean to scare up the heron but it did give me an opportunity to photograph this Black-crowned Night Heron in flight.

Today marks my 800th post on my blog, it seems like only a few months ago I announced my 500th post!

Life is good.

Mia

Click here to see more of my Black-crowned Night Heron photos plus facts and information about this species.