When I first spotted this Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I immediately noticed how spiky its feathers looked—they were sticking out in all directions. When I was growing up (and had hair), there were times when I had some unruly strands of hair that were equally uncontrollable. I would sometimes resort to a little bit of Brylcreem to slick down my hair—to this day I remember one of the marketing slogans for this product, “Brylcreem—a little dab will do ya!” When I was really little, my Mom would sometimes use a little saliva on her fingers to control my wayward hairs—it worked.
The heron was intently focused on an area with rocks and slowly moved closer to it, gradually lowering its head. I waited and waited and eventually the heron struck. I did not see the actual strike, because the heron’s head was hidden by the rocks at that moment. I was excited to see what the heron had caught. As the heron lifted its head, I was shocked to see a tiny fish in its bill. Though the fish was only an appetizer at best, the heron carefully maneuvered it into position and swallowed it.
When I left the heron, it had returned to fishing, dreaming perhaps of its next catch, which would hopefully be bigger than this one.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Nice series of images Mike! Enjoyed seeing them!
Great photos, show the full beauty of these birds 👏👏👏
Wow. Amazing shots, Mike!
Thanks, Tricia. It is especially cool when I can capture my subjects in action, like this Great Blue Heron.
Absolutely amazing, Mike.
Beautiful.