A fun little bit of action here. While sitting on the shore of a lake, waiting for a photo opportunity to develop, this young great blue heron flew in and landed nearby. I figured it was on a mission and soon it began slowly walking the shoreline, watching the water for a meal.

In an instant, its head dove into the water and emerged with a crawdad in its beak. I had hoped it would toss and flip it but instead the heron just maneuvered the crustacean directly to its mouth and down the hatch whole.

A fun pose from this prehistoric looking bird. It was perched on a little island in a pond and clearly not enjoying the heat. With its wings raised and spread partially, it was panting and doing its best to stay cool. These behaviors are common among larger birds, I have even seen bald eagles do it, including the panting.

I don’t fish any more but if I did, I would have been asking this heron for some tips. It clearly was a pro as over the span of 15 minutes it very quickly and efficiently nabbed itself three black crappie, coming up empty on only one attempt.

On one attempt, as you can see, the heron completely skewered the fish with its beak! After each was caught, it very expertly flipped the fish lengthwise and downed them in one gulp.

It was a fun weekend, especially when I can photograph scenes like this right behind our campsite.

While these massive, prehistoric-looking birds, can be found in Colorado year-round, they are most common in the spring and I am starting to see more and more. This one was kind enough to give me a nice flyby a couple of days ago.

It was moving from spot to spot at a local pond, stalking the waters looking for a meal. This is where you will usually find these guys – along bodies of water like ponds, lakes and rivers. Most often they will be standing at the water’s edge, watching for movement

These are some crazy cool birds and fun to watch. They remind me of the prehistoric pterodactyl with their skinny bodies, long beak and massive wings. I snapped this pic recently at a suburban pond.

Wind destroyed the rookery a couple of years ago but this year the herons have returned and have at least five nests going. You face south into the nest area so it is hard to get good pics of it but can get some awesome flight shots as the birds fly back and forth to gather stuff for their homes. 

I don’t know that I have ever captured a more perfect reflection of any subject matter. This gorgeous heron was hanging out at a pond at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge last weekend.

Despite being close to the road, it didn’t flinch at all when I stopped, remaining totally motionless. Beautiful weather with no wind meant the surface of the water was like a mirror reflecting the heron.

I snapped dozens of pics and compositions, liking this one the best.