Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘Ardea herodias’

Happy heron

Posted in Birds, Inspiration, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on March 28, 2020| 26 Comments »

“Oh what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day, I’ve got a beautiful feeling everything’s going my way.” I started my Thursday morning at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge with this handsome Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) who seemed to be serenading me.

If you have ever heard the squawk of a Great Blue Heron, you know why it is best that there is no soundtrack. Instead, I recommend that you click on this link to a YouTube video of the song that I cited in my opening sentence from the classic 1955 movie “Oklahoma”—it is guaranteed to brighten your day.

Great Blue Heron

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Wading heron

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , on February 21, 2020| 11 Comments »

It was sunny this morning, as forecast, but it was also windy and cold when I set out at 7 o’clock, about 25 degrees (minus 4 degrees C), according to the thermometer in my car. Most of the birds at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge seemed to have decided to sleep late, but eventually I started to see some of them, including this Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) that was wading out into the shallow waters of a low tide.

Great Blue Heron

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Precarious perch

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , on January 8, 2020| 9 Comments »

Last week I watched as a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) slowly flew across the sky and perched high in a tree in the middle of the woods. The perch seemed precarious and the heron’s position did not appear to be at all comfortable. I honestly don’t know how the heron managed to land amidst all of the small branches—it required precision flying for the heron to pull in its wide wings at precisely the right moment as it decelerated.

Great Blue Heron

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Merry Christmas 2019

Posted in Birds, Christmas, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , on December 25, 2019| 17 Comments »

Merry Christmas to family and friends who are celebrating Christmas today and Happy Holidays to all of you scattered throughout the world. Even this Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) seemed to want to join me in singing earlier this week.

“And heaven and nature sing,” as the chorus to “Joy to the World” tells us, as all creatures join with the landscape to “repeat the sounding joy.”

Great Blue Heron

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Solitary heron

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , on December 22, 2019| 6 Comments »

It was a frigid and desolate day and ice had formed at the edges of the ponds at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. My initial scan revealed that there were no ducks or other water birds on the surface of the water. As I looked more carefully, though, I caught sight of the familiar shape of a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias).

The heron was stationary, huddled on the opposite side of the pond from me. I can’t tell for sure, but it looks like the heron was standing on a single leg, with the second leg pulled up under its chest feathers in an effort to conserve body heat. Great Egrets and Green Herons leave our area and head south before the winter arrives, but Great Blue Herons remain with us throughout the cold season.

Great Blue Heron

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Great Blue Heron Close-up

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on December 16, 2019| 8 Comments »

As I was walking around a pond in Northern Virginia, I spotted this Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) standing at the edge of the water. My view, however, was significantly obstructed by the vegetation that separated us. I moved a little closer and then started to make tiny movements up and down and from side to side, searching for a visual tunnel that would give me a clearer view of this beautiful bird.

Although I never did get a completely unobstructed shot, I really like this one. The image has kind of a whimsical feel to it, because at first glance it looks like the heron has speared the small tree and I was also quite happy with the amount of detail that I was able to capture in the feathers and in the eye.

Great Blue Heron

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Great Blue Heron in December

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on December 8, 2019| 27 Comments »

Most of the times when I see a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias), it is in the open water patiently waiting to catch a fish. This past Thursday, however, I initially had trouble spotting this heron—it was hunkered down among the trees at the edge of the water of a small suburban pond, probably seeking shelter on a cold and windy day. I moved close enough to get some shots and then silently moved away, being careful not to disturb the heron and force it to move from its carefully chosen spot.

Great Blue Heron

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

Read Full Post »

Older Posts »