Have you ever seen a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) attempt to do a vertical takeoff from the water? Most of the time, blue herons gain altitude with a few thrusts of their powerful wings as they move forward into the air.
This heron, however, looked like he was initially trying to levitate straight up into the air, like a Harrier jet, a jet that is capable of taking off vertically. It looked like the heron could not perform a normal takeoff because his feet were tangled in the weeds at the bottom of the little pond. Before he could take off, he had to untangle his feet and his initial upward wing movements were intended to accomplish that task. Only then was he cleared for takeoff.
You’ll probably noted that I posted the images in reverse chronological order, so if you want to follow the takeoff process, you should start at the bottom. The first two images are more impressive as photographs, because I was able to capture the heron in the air, with the wings in interesting positions, despite the fact that I was using “only” a 180mm lens. (Some of the bird photographers that I encounter have 500mm or longer lenses.) The last two images are interesting and a little whimsical, because of the heron’s actions and the angle at which we are viewing the heron. Did you notice how skinny his face and neck look when shot from a head-on position?
Click on the image for a higher-resolution view.
Before you can take off, you have to untangle your feet.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Mike Powell 
Wow-he really was tangled up, wasn’t he? Great shots!
Thanks. I wonder how often that happens, given the fact that herons have pretty big feet. In this case, the heron had been standing in the water of this very shallow pond looking for something to eat for quite some time before he decided to take off.
Beautifully captured……….
Thanks, Mona. I happened to be in a good spot to capture the action when it happened.
Right shot @ right place seems Lucky 🙂
Nice catch!. They do a bit of a dance on landing and take off.
Great shot mike
Thanks. I’ve attempted numerous times to get photos of herons and these are some of my best results.
Just awesome, Mike👏👏👏
A great series of shots and thanks for the explanation that went with them.
The Great Blue Heron is a favorite so I really enjoy your action photos, thank you.
Fabulous shots. Thanks!
You captured some nice action there.
Thanks, Lyle. I’m still working on my skills in capturing birds in flight. Herons are a good way to practice, because they are pretty big and fly slowly.
Hi Mike – cool sequence. How close were you to this heron, you mentioned using a 180mm lens.
For the initial shots, when the heron was in the water, I was maybe 100 feet away or so (I’m bad at estimating distance) and for the in-flight shots I might have been about 50 feet away (or maybe even closer) as the heron flew closer to me.
These are great captures ! They aren’t easy to catch.
Thanks. I see blue herons fairly regularly and try to get some shots almost every time. Sometimes I can get a sense of when they are about to take off and I try to be ready with appropriate camera settings. Sometimes I get lucky and I get decent shots.
I have seen the VTO maneuver a couple of times, and it’s always a delight to behold. Each summer we try to take a canoe down the little river that flows from our lake in MN, and we nearly always see at least one great blue. They usually see us coming and move on, but once in a while one will stay until we’re closer. What a treat that is!