Mike Powell

A few days ago I featured a Black-crowned Night Heron in a posting called Heron of a different color. One of the most unusual things about that heron was the location where I found him—a man-made canal at the edge of the runways at Reagan National Airport, across the Potomac River from Washington D.C.

That day there was another heron, a Great Blue Heron, fishing just opposite the night heron. I thought that herons preferred clear water, to help them see their prey better, but this water did not look to be very clear.

The first photo shows part of the canal, with a concrete wall in the lower right and the peeling paint of a bridge support in the upper left. I captured the image as the heron was moving around a freshly-caught little fish in his beak prior to swallowing it.

In the second shot, the heron had just dipped his beak into the water. I like the concentric ripples in the water and the drops of water visibly dripping off of the heron’s beak. This may have been an unsuccessful strike or he may have decided to rinse out his mouth (to get rid of the fish taste?).

In this final photo, the heron is crossing the canal. As you can see, the water is fairly deep. I particularly like the heron’s reflection and how the details of the long feathers in the front are visible.

Six months ago, I didn’t realize that there were Great Blue Herons in the area in which I live, but now I seem to find them with some regularity. As long I continue to see them, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll be seeing them again in this blog.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved