Great Blue Heron In Winter Snow

Winter Great Blue Heron and its shadow – Nikon D300, f7.1, 1/2500, ISO 400, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 280mm, natural light

There isn’t any snow on the ground here at home this morning but in previous winters there has been thick blankets of the white stuff covering the ground by this time of the year. During the winter I look forward to photographing birds in the snow because it can be a blank, white canvas that shows off the beauty of the birds I am so passionate about.

The sun is low on the horizon at this time of the year which means I can photograph birds longer in the morning and start photographing them earlier in the afternoon without the light being too bright and contrasty.

On one winter in 2013 I went to Farmington Bay WMA in the afternoon instead of the early morning because at dawn heavy clouds blocked out the sun but when those clouds dissipated I had an itch to get out and see if I could find some birds.  On that bright winter afternoon one of my best avian subjects was this Great Blue Heron standing in water with a bank of fresh, white snow behind it. After this photo was taken I took a wonderful series of the heron lifting off and flying low just barely above the creek that I shared here on my blog. I didn’t share many photos of the Great Blue Heron while is was stationary so I decided to share one of those today.

The Great Blue Herons here are year round residents and during the winter when the water freezes over it can be hard on them because they can’t easily get to the fish, crustaceans and amphibians below the ice but these big wading birds switch over to stalking small mammals like voles and mice in the marshes during that time. These birds are tough.

Life is good.

Mia

Click here to see more of my Great Blue Heron photos plus facts and information about this species.