Most of time when I see Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias) take off, they fly high into the air. This heron, however, decided to fly very low over the surface of the big pond at my local marsh—I think he was on his way to harass one of his fellow herons, because there was a lot of loud squawking shortly after I took these shots.
Generally, it’s not hard for me to decide if I want to crop a shot in landscape or portrait mode. This time, though, I vacillated and ultimately decided to do one each format. Who says you have to choose? You can have it both ways.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Just love those herons. Watched one chase off a Green Heron from what was obviously a favored hunting spot (I could tell by all the feathers floating on the surface of the water) at Bombay Hook Sunday afternoon. Love the stealth glider appearance of your guy.
I never get enough of watching herons. I think we have some young ones in the marsh right now. They seem fairly inexperienced in fishing and seem to tolerate the presence of people pretty well. I was amazed to see how low this one was flying (trying to avoid detection on the radar, like the stealth aircraft you mentioned).
I like the shot with the wing dipped in the water.
Either way, he has a very determined look, like he was about to settle a score! Nice pics. M
They are so amazing when they fly. It is hard to imagine they can fly when you see them standing on the shoreline looking for food.
A heron’s grace in flight is always a real treat to behold. We have several that nest not far from our cabin and every time we drive by the marsh, I have to slow down to see if I can catch a glimpse of one, ever hopeful.
Nice shots!
To crop not to crop, the eternal dilemma. Love both anyway 🙂