Smiling is contagious. I can’t say for sure that this Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) was actually smiling when I spotted him in mid-January at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, but he seemed so happy that I could not help but smile back at him. I really enjoy trying to capture the personality of the individual birds when I photograph them and sometimes my wildlife subjects will cooperate with me.
Great Blue Herons remain in my area throughout the winter. It has to be tough on them right now, when many of the smaller ponds have iced over, but somehow the herons manage to find some open water and hopefully are able to catch enough food to survive.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
He does look happy, Mike.
Great Blues have the perfect personality for this shot 😃, and you caught it well😂😂
Wow. A great shot, Mike!
Smiling is in the eye of the photographer.
Nice start to the morning!
Thanks, Wally. So often our own mental and emotional state colors our perceptions, especially when it comes to interpreting what we are seeing.
Looks like a smile to me! Great photo!
Thanks. I love smiles and one of the things that I really miss when I am out is public and wearing a mask is seeing the smiles on the faces of others.
Nice Portrait image Mike!