Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

The other day, while I was photographing the Osprey nest, I think this guy got a bit jealous or maybe he was just curious. He came right over to me and hung around very close as if to say, "photograph me; I want to be famous, too". It was a great opportunity to oblige him, don't you think?

Great Blue Herons can be found all over the United States; anywhere water is; they are not fussy, they like both salt and fresh water. They are tall, stately birds that move slowly and deliberately when stalking their prey. When they decide the time is right, they strike with lightning speed. They are similar to cats on a hunt. The Great Blue Heron's diet consist mainly of fish, but they'll eat anything, snakes, lizards, rodents, other birds and small mammals.

Great Blue Herons hunt alone and it is rare to see more than one of them in the same place. However, they nest in colonies. There may be as many as 100 nests in one tree. They are monogamous during a season, but find new mates every year. 

These birds are very long (38-55 inches) with a wing span of 66-79 inches. Despite their size, they only weigh about 5 or 6 pounds, due to hollow bones that enable them to fly.

Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodios)

The Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodios) is a very large, tall bird. It stands at around 4 ft tall, and has a wing span of 6 ft. The adult's plumage is a blue-gray, with black shoulder patches and a black stripe from his eye to the back of the head.

Great Blue Herons can be found all over the United States and the Caribbean and South America. They are resident year 'round in Florida, and most have lost their fear of humans. Great Blue Herons can be seen near fishermen, standing within a few feet of them waiting to steal their catches. They can also be seen (like this one) walking around on lawns, waiting for a handout.

It is illegal to feed wildlife in Florida, but many people do, which encourages them to come right up to the door waiting for a snack. Snowbirds (people who winter in Florida) feed the birds, then when they leave to go back up North, the birds sit and wait for them to come back (like this one) instead of hunting for their own food.

In St Petersburg, around The Pier, people have fed the Pelicans so much, that they no longer fish for their food and many were starving to death. They City now feeds  them daily to keep them from starving. It's very sad. This is why it is illegal in this state. People who are feeding these beautiful birds are also not giving them natural food that is in their diet, which is making them unhealthy and threatening the species.

Fountain Detail in Safety Harbor, FL

I've posted several shots from this fountain while the water was running and nighttime shots a while back in this blog, but never any detailed shots.

This fountain is located at the entrance to the Safety Harbor Marina on Bayshore Boulevard in Safety Harbor and the sculpture is one of the best I've seen. This is only one of the avian sculptures in the fountain. It is most likely a Great Blue Heron. I'm judging that by the feathers at the back of his head.

The shape of the bird is similar to the Great Egret, but the Great Egret has no feathers at the back of their heads. The detail is phenomenal and it's one of my favorites of all the fountains I've seen.

Of all the various subject matter that I photograph for personal leisure, fountains and bridges are probably my favorite with birds running a close second. This combines both.

Settings used for this image are as follows: ISO 200, 1/400 at F4.0 on a sunny afternoon, just prior to sunset. I added 1 2/3 exposure compensation because it is backlit by the sky in the background and I wanted to preserve the detail. I used aperture priority and partial metering off the bird, and my focal length was 60mm with my 55mm-250mm zoom lens.

Great Blue Heron Taking Off

I had a little help capturing this Great Blue Heron at Seminole Lake Park today.

My friends and I went there because it was cloudy and we felt it would be a wonderful day to capture the birds at this park. No problems with the whites blowing out.

We spotted this guy on the edge of the lake. We kept shooting as we moved in on him from 3 directions. Finally, he took off, and we all had our cameras set up with continuous bursts and continuous focusing to capture him if he took to the air. He just caught the air when I shot this one.

Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Herons are another bird that I love to photograph. I like the way they stand so tall and straight with almost an arrogant attitude.

It's strange that their called Great BLUE Herons when their color looks like more gray to me. I've seen them in all shades of gray--well, I guess it's sort of a slate blue. What do you think?

These birds are pretty skittish unless you happen to have a fishing pole in your hands. Then they're all over the place ready to steal your fish while you're reeling it in. They can always be seen anywhere on the docks and piers waiting to steal someone else's catch. I've also seen them steal fish from other birds. They'd rather steal a catch than catch their own.

Guess What's on the Dinner Menu

I've seen Herons and Egrets eat a lot of things, but this dinner takes the cake!

This Great Blue Heron caught a Sting Ray for dinner. It was a great time watching him try to swallow it. I just kept watching that tail and wondering how he could avoid getting stung. It didn't seem to bother him however, because he managed to eat the whole thing in one gulp.

This one was photographed in Safety Harbor, FL at the Safety Harbor Marina. The tide was out, so there were a lot of birds feeding. Low tide is the best time to catch these magnificent birds out doing what they do best and at close enough proximity to create a good shot.

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Loyce