Great Blue Herons remain in my area throughout the winter, but the much smaller Green Herons (Butorides virescens) depart in the autumn for warmer locations. It is always exciting for me when these colorful little herons return in the spring. Green Herons have always struck me as having more outgoing personalities than the more stoic Great Blue Heron and I love to watch them.
Normally I see them down at water level, often partially hidden by the vegetation, which makes them a challenge to photograph. Last week during a visit to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, however, I spotted a Green Heron that had chosen a higher perch that allowed me to get an unobstructed shot. I really like the heron’s pose as it alertly surveyed the surrounding area.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Always good to see an old friend. That is a nice composition, Mike.
Thanks, Dan. One of the reasons why I love to visit the same few places over and over again is that I get a feel for the cycles of nature and can anticipate when species will appear and disappear. During this past year our human routines have been significantly affected by the pandemic, but nature has continued its circle of life. Regarding the composition, I was pretty far away when I took this shot and was happy when I managed to turn it into an environmental portrait.
One of the more interesting Herons. They actually will use ‘tools’ to fish. Drop sticks or other items in the water to attract minnows. This year we seem to have had less sightings of them. Glad they moved up by you, nice shot.
I have read about the green herons using tools, but have not witnessed it personally. They do seem to be pretty proficient in catching prey. I remember well one of my first encounters with a green heron almost nine years ago as I watched it catch a frog. (https://michaelqpowell.com/2012/07/24/not-seeing-eye-to-eye/). I’m still happy with those photos, even though my “long” lens at the time was a 55-250mm zoom lens on my 8.2 megapixel Canon Rebel XT DSLR.
That series of photos from 2012 is amazing and the frog-in-the-throat line is LOL-funny!
As you can see, Liz, my style of photography and writing have not really changed much in the 8+ years since I wrote that posting. 🙂
So glad our paths crossed!
Me too!
Beautiful photo, Mike. Love this little heron. We have one on our pond. You’ve done a far better job of a photo of him than I have! 😂 Blue Rock Horses Frederick County, Virginia bluerockhorses.com
Thanks, Mitzy. Green herons are pretty elusive and skittish–it helps to have a long telephoto lens so that you don’t have to try to sneak up on them.
Problem for me is, when I change lens, bird gone! LOL!
I have had that happen to me. I think that is one of the reason so many of the birders I know like a camera with a super zoom lens that let you shoot from wide angle all the way to long telephoto without having to change lenses. A number of my dragonfly friends use cameras like that as well.
Lovely. I had never heard of green herons and interesting to see how much smaller they are.
Green Herons tend to hunch over quite often, which makes them look every more compact. Sometimes, though, they will extend their necks and it is amazing how long the neck seems. (Check out this posting I did that shows a green heron in what I called a “giraffe pose.” https://michaelqpowell.com/2019/05/20/the-giraffe-pose/)
Oh yes. Looks much bigger. I like ‘giraffe pose.’ You really should try your hand at poetry.
I really do like to play with words, so I have thought about trying to write some poetry, especially since I have been exposed to so many wonderful poets over the past year. Actually I did have one little go at writing a poem late last year–I don’t recall if you saw my blog posting called “Pandemic Poetry.” here is a link to that posting with my little poem. 🙂 https://michaelqpowell.com/2020/12/29/pandemic-poetry/
That’s really good. You definitely have a way with words. Try writing more. Have a go at writing about your dragonflies and eagles.
Thanks. I’ll see what I can do. My photos certainly provide me with abundant source material.
Very Nice Mike! One of my favorite Herons to photograph!
Thanks, Reed. Green Herons are probably my favorite wading bird to photograph, but I will take shots of any bird that comes in range of my camera.
Who names these things? Was the one they named covered with duckweed or something? Gorgeous colors, but I see NO green!
I am with you, Molly, on the crazy names. Green herons don’t look very green to me either.
Beautiful pic too
Thanks.