Great Blue Heron at Lake Greenwood, SC

We vacationed recently along Lake Greenwood, South Carolina, where I got several opportunities to photograph birds local there during April. (Got some newbies for my bird list!)

During the past few months at home in Maryland, I haven’t seen any Great Blue Herons along our water’s edge (not the norm), basically due to the chaos of the bulkhead getting rebuilt. I’ve spotted them in different inlets along the roads, but that’s no fun when you can’t sit and enjoy them for a while. If you sit and watch one, you’ll learn what patience is all about.

While at Lake Greenwood, I spotted many Great Blue Herons flying about here and there, sometimes landing down by the local docks. I took many photos from a distance while they flew around or fished/rested by the lake, just okay shots…..and finally was at the right place right time for closer and crisper ones.

One of my favorites, the beautiful Great Blue Heron stands about 4 feet tall, with a wingspan up to 6 feet wide. Yet the adult weighs only about 5 lbs. because their bones are hollow. That surely helps to get their body up and in flight!