A Great Blue Heron Fishing

Driving by a man-made water canal connected directly to the ocean, I spotted this gorgeous Great Blue Heron. We rode back around the block and dropped me off for these quick captures.

The Great Blue Heron never looked at me; but he did fluff up his wings and gorgeous feathers, I assumed because of my presence. He knew I was there.

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Those wings and feathers settled back down as his eyes targeted something below in the water. He stretched out and down.

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The water level was about 4-5 feet below the Great Blue Heron. I knew he couldn’t reach that far without diving down. Because of the odd situation, I knew he’d most likely fished here before, but at high tide, not the present low tide.

I turned to leave him be and walked back behind him to the car when the Great Blue Heron pulled back and curled up tight, fluffing those wings and beautiful feathers again.

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I am sure he was glad I was leaving. Or maybe the Great Blue Heron was thinking twice about diving down and getting those gorgeous feathers wet and dirty. 🙂

Tags: feathers, fishing, great blue heron, heron, nature, photo, photograph, photographs, photography, photos, wildlife

40 thoughts on “A Great Blue Heron Fishing”

montucky on 02/02/2018 at 10:40 PM said:

Beautiful bird! I will be glad to see them when they return here for the summer.

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- bayphotosbydonna on 02/03/2018 at 8:55 AM said:
  
  Thanks Terry! I can understand why! 🙂
  
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avian101 on 02/02/2018 at 11:18 PM said:

Great captures Donna.Good lighting. 🙂

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- bayphotosbydonna on 02/03/2018 at 8:55 AM said:
  
  Thanks HJ! 🙂
  
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Sue on 02/03/2018 at 1:56 AM said:

Love your photos of this beautiful and elegant bird Donna. It always reminds me of a bird here in Australia, a white faced heron. Looks very similar and I think they are in the same Family. Quite interesting to think one lives in the northern hemisphere and the other in the southern hemisphere. Must be cousins!

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- bayphotosbydonna on 02/03/2018 at 9:06 AM said:
  
  Thanks Sue! I agree, cousins! I would love to see in person your White-faced Heron. 🙂
  
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blhphotoblog on 02/03/2018 at 4:59 AM said:

Lovely capture.

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- bayphotosbydonna on 02/03/2018 at 9:07 AM said:
  
  Thanks Brian!
  
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Ellen Jennings on 02/03/2018 at 7:41 AM said:

Nice captures of this beauty! The green wood of the canal is an interesting background and offsets the heron’s colors nicely.

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- bayphotosbydonna on 02/04/2018 at 4:32 PM said:
  
  Thanks Ellen! I liked the add of the green on the wood myself, with all those dull branches elsewhere. 🙂
  
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kathydoremus on 02/03/2018 at 7:58 AM said:

Love how they slowly stalk! Nice shots. 🙂

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- bayphotosbydonna on 02/03/2018 at 9:08 AM said:
  
  Thanks Kathy 🙂
  
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Susan Hale on 02/03/2018 at 9:25 AM said:

Beautiful Donna! So sharp and clear, you can see every feather. I loved your comment about going around the block and being dropped off to get the pictures. I do that all the time to my husband! 🙂

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- bayphotosbydonna on 02/03/2018 at 8:00 PM said:
  
  Thanks Susan! Hopefully, your husband doesn’t roll his eyes like mine does, lol. We trade off these excursions. I’ve already attended two boat shows in a month. Tit for tat! 🙂
  
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neihtn2012 on 02/03/2018 at 9:50 AM said:

It was too high for him. Better to wait for the tide and the fish to come.

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- bayphotosbydonna on 02/03/2018 at 8:00 PM said:
  
  It was too high. He’ll be good again at that time in a few days!
  
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Sharon Mann on 02/03/2018 at 10:10 AM said:

What a handsome Blue Heron. How exciting to be so close to this majestic bird.

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- bayphotosbydonna on 02/03/2018 at 8:05 PM said:
  
  Thanks Sharon, I actually was about 10 feet from him, it was awesome!
  
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aussiebirder on 02/03/2018 at 1:56 PM said:

What a beautiful specimen Donna, he has such character adorned in breeding plumage, some really beautiful captures.

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- bayphotosbydonna on 02/03/2018 at 8:12 PM said:
  
  Thanks Ashley, it’s getting that time of year for the birds around here to get themselves ready and get busy! Breeding plumage is stunning in so many bird species, it’s an exciting time for us as well! 🙂
  
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Tiny on 02/03/2018 at 2:38 PM said:

Lovely shots of this beautiful Great Blue, Donna! I have also seen them staring down in the water for a long time and then deciding not to get their feathers wet. Maybe the fish was not big enough 🙂

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- bayphotosbydonna on 02/03/2018 at 8:13 PM said:
  
  Thanks Helen! They are smart, aren’t they?!! Gotta make it worth it, lol. 🙂
  
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  - Tiny on 02/04/2018 at 9:10 AM said:
    
    That’s it! 😀
Jane's Heartsong on 02/03/2018 at 4:56 PM said:

Nice captures and a fun thing to happen to discover while travelling in the car. I like it’s concentration.

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- bayphotosbydonna on 02/03/2018 at 8:17 PM said:
  
  Thanks Jane, luckily my hubby abides to my quick stops; but then I gotta go look at boats and marinas for him. lol Which can be good, because birds hang around marinas too! 😉
  
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  - Jane's Heartsong on 02/04/2018 at 1:39 PM said:
    
    It is good to give attention to each other’s interests, as you know. Definitely a win-win situation.
tootlepedal on 02/03/2018 at 5:13 PM said:

It is wonderful how a heron can fold and unfold itself.

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- bayphotosbydonna on 02/03/2018 at 8:19 PM said:
  
  It certainly is!
  
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Jet Eliot on 02/03/2018 at 8:15 PM said:

It is always a joy to watch the GBH. They are such patient and deliberate hunters, they teach us patience. I appreciate that you gave him his space, too. You’re a respectful photographer, Donna…and so very talented.

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- bayphotosbydonna on 02/03/2018 at 8:29 PM said:
  
  Thank you so much for your kind words, Jet. They’re indeed a joy to watch, sometimes they can make us laugh with their scratching and stretching in some crazy positions. 🙂 And I know their patience has taught me better patience!
  
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Gunta on 02/04/2018 at 12:38 AM said:

I wish I had half their patience! 😀 You caught this one quite nicely (as always!) lol Just looked at Jet’s comment and your reply about learning patience. Great minds working alike, eh?

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- bayphotosbydonna on 02/04/2018 at 8:50 AM said:
  
  Thanks Gunta, yes they/we sure do!! 😀
  
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belindagroverphotography on 02/04/2018 at 7:49 AM said:

Beautiful bird, wonderful series of shots!

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- bayphotosbydonna on 02/04/2018 at 8:54 AM said:
  
  Thank you Belinda! I could never tire taking photos of the beautiful GBH. I do love that they can also offer some pretty funny poses scratching and stretching too! 😀
  
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circadianreflections on 02/04/2018 at 12:34 PM said:

Oh, it does look ready to pounce on the first unsuspecting frog, or fish that passes by! Lovely series Donna!

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- bayphotosbydonna on 02/04/2018 at 4:21 PM said:
  
  Thanks Deborah! 🙂
  
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travelingtrish1 on 02/06/2018 at 12:02 AM said:

Love watching them catch fish… Beautiful birds!

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- bayphotosbydonna on 02/06/2018 at 5:30 PM said:
  
  They are one of my favorite birds, I never tire watching and photographing them. 🙂
  
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DeniseBalog on 02/24/2018 at 9:32 AM said:

We have this type of heron come through southern Oklahoma too. At least he looks the same to me. Wonderful photos Donna. Thank you for sharing!

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- bayphotosbydonna on 02/25/2018 at 1:13 PM said:
  
  I hope you do have this visitor, they are so majestic and photogenic. Thanks so much Denise! 🙂
  
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