Blue-eyed Grass – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/400, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light
Last week I was Thinking Pink so this week I thought I would focus on the shades of blues found in wildflowers, birds, the sky and seas. Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchiumangustifolium) is one of my favorite blue wildflowers from the eastern United States. Blue-eyed Grass isn’t actually a grass at all, it is from the Iris family and may have gotten the “Grass” part of its name because the leaves are very thin and grass-like. I found and photographed this beauty under the pines of the Osprey Trail at Honeymoon Island State Park in Florida.
Great Blue Heron in the Gulf of Mexico – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/1000, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 230mm, natural light
It seems to me that Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias) are misnamed because they are more gray than they are blue, in fact when I see a Great Blue Heron posted on line that is very blue I scratch my head because they really aren’t that blue. I photographed this Great Blue Heron as it walked along the shoreline of the Gulf of Mexico at Fort De Soto’s north beach in Florida.
Little Blue Heron stalking prey in a tidal lagoon – Nikon D200, handheld, f7.1, 1/640, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 360mm, natural light
Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea) adults are more blue than Great Blue Herons, at least from the base of the neck to their tails, their necks have a reddish cast to them. I was sitting in the lagoon with the Little Blue Heron approached me while it was stalking and hunting prey at Fort De Soto County Park in Florida.
Male Lazuli Bunting – Nikon D200, f8, 1/500, ISO 250, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light
Male Lazuli Buntings (Passerina amoena) have a gorgeous azure blue head as well as some blue on other parts of their bodies. The word “lazuli” come from the semi-precious gemstone Lapis Lazuli which comes in various shades of blue with gold colored specks. I photographed this Lazuli Bunting in the San Rafael area of Utah and the background is the color of sandstone found in that area.
Mountain Bluebird - Nikon D200, f6.3, 1/2500, ISO 500, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4 TC at 400mm, natural light
Mountain Bluebirds (Sialia currucoides) are one of the bluest bird species I have photographed, especially the males. I didn’t add any color saturation to this image at all, this is how blue the bird looked in the light conditions I had at the time I took this image at Red Rock lakes National Wildlife Refuge in Montana. The males during the breeding season are a rich, vibrant blue.
Blue skies at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Montana – Nikon D200, handheld, f20, 1/160, ISO 400, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 18-200mm VR at 18mm, natural light
Some of the bluest skies I have ever seen have been at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in southwestern Montana where on a clear (or not so clear) day you can see for miles & miles. I loved how this wave of clouds fanned out in this frame and added a nice contrast to the blue tones in the sky.
Amazing blues of Magens Bay, Saint Thomas, USVI – No techs, this is a panorama made from several images that were joined together
The colors of the seas and oceans have always drawn me to water because they can vary from the palest aquamarine to deep royal blues and everything in between. Magens Bay in Saint Thomas and the Atlantic Ocean beyond it give this image wonderful shades of blue that I find very soothing and it brings back nice memories of my stay on the island.
Great Blue Heron flying over the Gulf of Mexico – Nikon D200, handheld, f5.6. 1/2000, ISO 500, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 260mm, natural light
Great Blue Herons are year round residents in both Florida and Utah although conditions during the winter months can be starkly different for these large wading birds in the two locations and climates. Florida during the winter can be cool but comfortable.
The Great Blue Heron above was photographed as it flew over the Gulf of Mexico in Florida. Great Blue Heron hunting voles in winter – Nikon D200, f7.1, ISO 400, 1/2000, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light
Winters in Utah can be harsh, bitter cold and the ground can stayed covered in snow for weeks. Some times the freshwater freezes and the Great Blue Herons can no longer find food from the marshes, ponds and streams so they hunt for voles instead. The Great Blue Heron shown above was stalking voles near snow-covered vegetation at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area. I remember having numb hands when I took this image, it was that cold!
Great Blue Herons nesting – Nikon D200, handheld, f8, 1/1000, ISO 320, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light
This photo was taken at the end of December of 2008 at Fort De Soto County Park in Florida where the Great Blue Herons were already building nests by that time, can’t imagine that happening here in Utah. Note the blue lores that both of these birds have, that is a sign that they are in breeding plumage. The setting sun gave this image that golden glow of “sweet light”.
By the way, I unknowingly stepped into a fire ant hill when I took this image, thankfully I realized it right away, moved, brushed off the ants and continued shooting images.
Great Blue preening in the snow – Nikon D300, f7.1, ISO 400, 1/2500, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light
Great Blue Herons in Utah do seem to have a tougher life but they appear to deal with it quite well. I spotted this heron a few weeks ago as it preened on the snowy banks of a small stream. We’d had lots of snow that week and there was over a foot of it at Farmington Bay WMA.
Great Blue Heron in pursuit – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/1500, ISO 400, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 98mm, natural light
Great Blue Herons in Florida have to deal with extreme weather too because tropical storms and hurricanes can batter all of the birds with high winds, driving rains, pounding waves and loss of habitat. This Great Blue Heron was chasing off a rival for some prime fishing grounds in a territorial pursuit.
Great Blue Herons survive in both locations because they are adaptable and if they can’t locate their normal prey they will find another.
My monthly post is up at BirdingIsFun.com, fly on over and check it out!
Chukar running in the snow
I spent the day photographing with Ron and a fellow photographer friend of ours from Arizona, Brian Gatlin. Antelope Island State Park was slow, the only images I took were of the Chukar above.
Great Blue Heron preening to remove ice
Farmington Bay WMA; on the other hand, was hopping. This Great Blue Heron; probably the same one I photographed a few days ago, was trying hard to get the ice off that had formed on the straggly part of its chest plumage.
Juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron
Then there was this juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron standing in the open water near the second bridge. It also had ice hanging from its plumage.
Rough-legged Hawk juvenile
There was also cooperative juvenile Rough-legged Hawk perched on a bush near the road.
Barn Owl
And this lovely Barn Owl that probably couldn’t figure out why three glass lenses in the pick up were pointed at it along with one in a vehicle behind us. The bird obviously doesn’t know it has Star Power.
A wonderful fun-filled day with great companionship and plenty of birds. I can’t ask for more.
Great Blue Heron next to a creek – Nikon D300, f7.1, 1/2500, ISO 400, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light
I spotted this Great Blue Heron yesterday at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area and loved the setting with the fresh snow blanketing the steep creek bank. I also thought the shadow of the bird was great and if you look very closely behind the bird you can see where the wingtips of the heron brushed the pristine snow when it landed in this location.
Great Blue Heron “Bill Puppet” – Nikon D300, f7.1, 1/4000, ISO 400, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 221mm, natural light
This sort of reminds me of playing “Hand Puppet” when I was a child because of the heron’s shadow. This was one of the most cooperative Great Blue Herons I have come across at Farmington Bay WMA.
The images that follow are in sequential order and show the Great Blue Heron lifting off from this location and moving about 50 feet to the west. (techs to follow the images)
Great Blue Heron Lift Off 1
Great Blue Heron Lift Off 2
Great Blue Heron Lift Off 3
Great Blue Heron Lift Off 4
Great Blue Heron Flight 1
Great Blue Heron Flight 2
Great Blue Heron Flight 3
Great Blue Heron Flight 4
Great Blue Heron Flight 5
Great Blue Heron Flight 6
All of these images were taken with these techs – Nikon D300, f7.1, 1/2500, ISO 400, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 200mm, natural light, the shutter speed for the last image was 1/3200.
The photos taken sequentially after these unfortunately had grasses in front of the heron that would have been distracting as the bird landed in the new location. Those landing shots would have been wonderful without the obstructions.
The snow made a lovely background for these heron images but not so much for those of us using the roads at Farmington Bay WMA yesterday. There was a duck hunting boat that slid off the road at a turn, I bet they had to use a winch to pull the boat out from the back to prevent the heavy rear end of it from sliding further down the steep shoulder. Those duck hunters didn’t look happy.
The roads were slippery, the snow was deep. I would not recommend going there for a few days unless you have a high clearance vehicle and 4 wheel drive.
Great Egret Portrait – Nikon D200, handheld, f7.1, 1/800, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 160mm, natural light, not baited
These two “Great” images were taken two minutes apart of two different “Great” wading birds in Florida. The first one I photographed was this Great Egret that was going into breeding plumage, those lores were pretty green but they get greener during the height of mating season. Notice that I was only at 160mm, this bird walked up very close to me. That bill looked dangerously close, glad I don’t look like any of this bird’s prey.
Great Blue Heron Portrait – Nikon D200, handheld, f7.1, 1/1000, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light, not baited
This Great Blue Heron was going out of breeding plumage, notice that the lores are a dull gray with a slight blue tint to them, during mating season the lores are a dark blue.
Blue-eyed Grass – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/400, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light
Great Blue Heron in the Gulf of Mexico – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/1000, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 230mm, natural light
Little Blue Heron stalking prey in a tidal lagoon – Nikon D200, handheld, f7.1, 1/640, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 360mm, natural light
Male Lazuli Bunting – Nikon D200, f8, 1/500, ISO 250, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light
Mountain Bluebird - Nikon D200, f6.3, 1/2500, ISO 500, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4 TC at 400mm, natural light
Blue skies at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Montana – Nikon D200, handheld, f20, 1/160, ISO 400, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 18-200mm VR at 18mm, natural light
Amazing blues of Magens Bay, Saint Thomas, USVI – No techs, this is a panorama made from several images that were joined together
