Great Blue Heron on ice with frost flowers – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/2000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
After miles and miles and miles of travel yesterday my best images were of an adult Great Blue Heron on ice with frost flowers in the frame.
I saw plenty of birds including Bald and Golden Eagles, various duck species, Pied-billed Grebes, gulls, Red-tailed and Rough-legged Hawks, pheasants, Horned Larks, harriers, sparrows, turkeys, magpies and more but the only decent images I took were of two different Great Blue Herons. The other Great Blue Heron was also on ice but I didn’t care for the images as much as I did for my photos this heron because there was vegetation very close to the other heron that I felt were a touch distracting.
It was about 16°F when I took this photo so it is no wonder that the heron was scrunched down and fluffed up a bit. I’d have been frozen solid if I had spent the night out on that frigid marsh with temps in the teens. The heron even has a tiny piece of frost stuck on its lower mandible and some frost near where its plume touches its upper back. Brr. Make no mistake, these herons are tough!
Many of the units at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge had what we call “frost flowers” on the ice which are areas where frost crystals are deposited on the ice crystals that can form to look like flowers and they can be seen in this image surrounding the heron on the ice shelf it was standing on.
I’m grateful that I had at least two cooperative birds yesterday because most of the rest of them were way too skittish to photograph or were perched on power poles as still as statues with their backs to me or had power lines in front of their faces.
So I have a Great Blue Heron on ice which kind of sounds like it should be a mixed drink for birders and bird photographers or anyone who loves birds. Something with Curaçao in it perhaps?
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my Great Blue Heron photos plus facts and information about this species.
Thanks for braving the cold for this nice image.
I think I just did the same trip you are talking about. I had a similar experience, saw the same jumpy birds and took photos of the same herons. If I had not gone for a nice soak at the hot springs I would say it was a disappointment.
That’s a handsome, though somewhat chilled-looking bird.
Love the heron, but in our current heat wave I am drawn to those beautiful frost flowers. How I wish I could be there.
What a nice picture of the Blue Heron. They do stand tall even when feathers are ruffled to keep warm. Glad you had at least one photo take while out in the frozen tundra! Thanks for sharing.
Great composition! I can feel the cold through the photo.