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 