Ardea herodias
Great Blue Herons are blue-gray with dark crowns and head plumes, long legs, necks and bills and the head, neck and wings give it a shaggy appearance.
Yesterday morning I spent time focusing on photographing Great Blue Herons on the frozen marshes of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
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.
Because I arrived at twilight that morning and had a clear sky I knew that I could take photos of the Great Blue Heron with the blue colored Earth's Shadow and pink Belt of Venus behind it.
As a bird photographer I'm feeling a sense of urgency now that I didn't feel a few weeks ago because as I watch the migrants in the Wasatch Mountains getting ready for their long journeys I know that my time for photographing them this year is quickly running out.
The Great Blue Heron had flown in and landed near the shoreline on the other side of the pond where the bank was covered with snow and the heron rested there for a bit.
It really is a simple Great Blue Heron photo with the marsh, a stationary wading bird, vibrant spring growth and water at the top of the frame but it is also a very calming image for me because for a few seconds time stood as still as the heron.
Two days ago on my immature Double-crested Cormorant post I mentioned that prior to photographing the cormorant that I had been taking images of a Great Blue Heron, these two photos are of that heron.
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.
It felt amazing to have that Great Blue Heron gift us with its presence for those few seconds. You just never know what might happen when you are out looking for birds.
This photo of a resting Great Blue Heron with American Coots was taken yesterday afternoon when the sun was shining on the same shoreline of my local pond as one of the photos I shared here on my blog yesterday.
The unusually colored feathers of this Great Blue Heron that I photographed on September 24th of this year caught my eyes because it has some white feathers in its crown where normally all the feathers are dark black.
Two years ago when I photographed this stormy sky with a Great Blue Heron in flight I also photographed loads of other birds from the auto tour route including wading and shorebirds, geese, ducks, ibis, terns, gulls, rails, pelicans and coots.
I'm wondering now if Great Blue Herons here in Utah might already be adapting to climate change by moving higher up into the mountain valleys and canyons that have suitable food and water supplies to breed and nest.
My entire focus was on the calm Great Blue Heron in front of me and I felt as relaxed as the heron appeared to be that morning.
I really wanted some nice bird photos to remember Christmas Day 2017 and I found them but just a few blocks away from home at the local pond.
It isn't everyday I get to see and photograph a Great Blue Heron in flight with the Wasatch Mountains in the background but I had that opportunity two afternoons ago at a pond close to home.
The lives of these Great Blue Herons sure are different when you compare December in Utah to December in Florida.
I had fun photographing the juvenile Great Blue Heron, juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron and the adult Snowy Egret yesterday at Bear River MBR. I especially loved the clearer skies.
It does seem odd though to see Great Blue Herons hanging around the Great Salt Lake after the chicks have fledged like this immature heron I photographed yesterday near the causeway.
This Great Blue Heron wandered past me one December morning at Fort De Soto County Park's north beach on a gray, windy day and because it was close I simply had to take a photo of the large wading bird.
This photo of a preening Great Blue Heron on an old stump in the water of the Gulf of Mexico is far from perfect but I still like it for the behavior that it shows.
I am anxious to get out to the Bear River MBR auto tour loop of the refuge to see what migrants have flown in but right now that isn't possible and there isn't any information on when the road will open again
As I focused on the Great Blue Heron I could tell it was an immature bird braving its first winter alone in the marshes of Farmington Bay.
The Great Blue Herons here in Utah are dealing with ice, snow and bitter cold temperatures now but the Great Blue Herons in Florida they have started courting and building their nests.
Today I am celebrating having published 2000 posts on birds, wildlife and nature at On The Wing Photography and sharing the stories behind the images along with the journeys I take to find my subjects.
Two days ago when I found this Great Blue Heron resting in the goose nest I knew I had to photograph it because of the autumn colors in the background.
I had a great deal of fun photographing the pelicans, herons, egrets and geese in flight in the rapidly changing light yesterday morning at Bear River MBR.
This Great Blue Heron was in flight over the north beach of Fort De Soto with dark Australian Pines in the background on a foggy morning.
I have only seen and photographed these two Great Blue Herons expelling bile in Florida and Utah. I wonder how often this occurs.
These images of a Great Blue Heron at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge were taken last September on the auto tour route at the refuge.