Why was this Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) crouching in the water? Was he playing hide-and-seek with his heron friends? Was he seeking shelter in the shade?
The more that I watched the heron fix his attention on the eye-level branches, the more I became convinced that he was stalking dragonflies. Several times he advanced forward slowly, never once looking down at the water, but I never saw him make the rapid thrust that he uses when catching fish. It seems to me that he would get a better reward for his efforts by catching fish and frogs, but maybe he simply wanted some variety in his diet.
When I departed, the heron was still crouching and the dragonflies remained hidden.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Last winter when everything was mostly frozen over I saw a great blue heron and was surprised to learn that they will eat just about anything that will fit down their throat. You wouldn’t think that there would be much nutritional value in dragonflies though.
I really like your idea of its playing hide-and-seek with its companions! As for stalking dragonflies, who knows? In my experience, they’re pretty wary of anything getting really close–but then, herons are pretty patient and sneaky.
BTW, love your title!
LOL 😀 Great title and image, I’ve never seen them do that.
Thanks. Who knows what crazy things birds and animals do when we are not around?
Great title. I wonder if he ever caught any dragonflies? I kind of hope not.
One of my friends told me that he has seen both blue and green herons catching dragonflies, but I haven’t seen one do so. I did get some shots last year of a tree swallow that had caught a dragonfly and had brought it back ot the nesting box.