While some of these big birds are around year-round, we most often see them during the warmer months. This past Sunday, there were a number of them gathered around a local pond, giving me some cool captures. Here, one, seemingly unaware of (or uncaring about) my presence, flies in and makes a landing. With their huge wings and long necks, these birds remind me of the long-extinct pterodactyl.
Great blue heron takes flight across the water
Here on the Colorado Front Range, these huge birds are most commonly seen in the summer but some linger during the colder months. This past weekend I spotted a few, all too far to get decent shots of. So, this image harkens back to April when I had a fun encounter with a pair of them.
I was sitting on the shore of a pond, relaxing and enjoying a mild, calm spring morning. The pair flew up and landed about 20 feet away, seemingly unaware – or uncaring – of my presence. I got some cool shots of them as they hung out and then they gave me a nice flyby when they decided to move to different grounds. They were quite close so I was able to capture some great detail of its beautiful plumage.
Great blue heron flies by at dawn’s first light
This is a capture is what I would call a ‘happy mistake.’ Technically, my camera settings were wrong for capturing a bird in flight with the shutter speed having been set too slow. I failed to notice that when taking the picture but, in the end, the result was quite nice I think.
The slow shutter speed caused a blurring of the ends of the wings and the background but maintained sharpness of the bird’s face a body. The result, coupled with the light from the sun just emerging over the horizon, is pretty neat.
Great blue heron flies by the snow-covered Rocky Mountains
Just a ‘pretty shot’ as I would call it. While waiting for some more action-oriented pictures to take, I was keeping a keen eye on the horizon to the west for the right opportunity. I was seeing a variety of birds fly south to north but none quite high enough to get the scene I wanted. This modern-day pterodactyl was kind enough to fix that problem. It looked absolutely gorgeous in the morning light with the indomitable Rockies serving as a backdrop.
Great blue heron begins liftoff.
Another summertime favorite here on the Colorado plains. While some linger throughout the winter, it is during the summer that I see most of these large birds.
This past weekend I was sitting on the shore of a local pond and two of the herons came in and landed nearby. They were initially out of sight but began working their way closer, entirely oblivious to me sitting there. They gave me some great poses and eventually decided the fishing wasn’t too good there and departed. Here, one lifts its wings and begins its launch while the other watches in the background.
Video slideshow – top shots 2022: Birds
I always joke that I don’t photograph “little birds” because they are boring. That isn’t entirely true. While I may not focus on them regularly, when the opportunity is there I certainly will snap pics of them. They just require more patience than I have most times. 😉 Some, like hummingbirds, are a real challenge while the American white pelican is kind of goofy looking but just beautiful.
Great blue heron chills out on the ice
November here on the Colorado Front Range has been unusually cold, causing some ponds and lakes to start to freeze over earlier than normal. For birds like great blue herons that largely feed on fish, this can be a bit frustrating as their meals will be safely tucked under the ice. This particular one seemed a bit less than thrilled with the bone chilling cold of a recent morning, stoically standing on one leg on the ice of a frozen pond and looking none to happy about it.
Great blue heron stands alone as the waters rush by
Great blue heron stands alone as the waters rush by. Taken along the South Platte River this past weekend. This heron and found itself some high ground to stake out and keep watch as the river’s waters flowed right by. It seems like this is one of those images that could be used for some sort of bigger philosophical message but, for now, I’ll just say that I like it a lot.
Pelican pursues a heron for its fish
This was something I hadn’t seen before. Pelicans can definitely be aggressive in trying to steal a meal from other birds, usually choosing to go after cormorants. I had never seen one try to steal from a great blue heron though, let alone set off in pursuit of it in the air.
This heron caught itself a huge fish and no doubt was looking forward to the meal but the pelican had its eyes on the prize as well. The pelican chased it for a good ways and eventually the heron dropped the fish, living both empty handed.
Kind of a “content over quality” series as the pics aren’t the best with the action taking place a long ways away and not in good light but it was fun to see.
Great blue heron skewers a bluegill
A nice breakfast for the bird, not such a great morning for the fish. 😉
Yesterday morning I happened across this beautiful heron and it was clearly looking for a meal. As is typical for them, the heron moved very slowly and deliberately, focused on the water and any hint of movement. It moved into the reeds and when it emerged, it had a nice, little meal.