Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron

The great blue heron is the largest bird that I have photographed in Florida.  One evening, as the sun sank lower in the sky, one of these large birds landed in the trees on a small island in Bonita Springs and was lit by the soft, reddish light of the setting sun.  I made several photos, including a few where it ruffled its feathers to intimidate a much smaller bird that landed nearby.

I shared a few of these images in 2015, but decided to share the whole sequence again in a larger format.

Comments are welcome!

Feel free to share with family and friends.

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Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron

I spotted a great blue heron atop trees on an island in southwest Florida late one evening as the sun was setting. It was obvious because of its size and the fact that the reddish light from the setting sun was illuminating the tops of the trees only. An immature white ibis flew in and landed close by; too close for the blue heron because it fluffed its feathers and made threatening motions towards the much smaller bird. When the smaller bird flew away, the heron seemed very pleased with itself and stretched its long neck skyward and made interesting sounds.

I shot these photos with my 70-300 mm lens on maximum zoom. I guess it was more than 60 feet from where I was standing.

Feel free to share today's photos with family and friends.

Photos of the Day are for sale as:

• Stock Photographs
• Photographic Prints and Enlargements
• Slide Shows
• Wallpapers/Screensavers

Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron

I am continuing with the Birds Theme again today!

When I looked up the Great Blue Heron on the All About Birds site (http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Blue_Heron/id) It didn’t show them on the island of Newfoundland, but I photographed one in Trout River on the west coast of the island several years ago.

Today’s photos were taken in Florida.  I spotted this bird hunting in a ditch and slowly crept closer and closer.  It was hunting for prey so it didn’t bother to move away.  I stalked it for an hour, hoping to capture an image of it with its catch.  I was just about to give up when it quickly darted its head into the water and came up with a fish impaled on its beak.  It quickly tossed its head, dislodging the fish and catching it with its beak.  Within seconds it swallowed the fish whole. 

You can see 17 photos I made of this bird, including 7 of it from the time it caught the fish until it was gone, on my Blog today at: http://kbrucelane.blogspot.ca/

You can view my current gallery of Great Blue Heron photos at: http://www.lanephotography.com/birds/great-blue-heron/great-blue-heron.htm.  I will be adding to this gallery soon.

Feel free to share today's photos with family and friends.

Photos of the Day are for sale as:

• Stock Photographs
• Photographic Prints and Enlargements
• Slide Shows
• Wallpapers/Screensavers