Foraging immature Great Blue Heron close up – Nikon D500, f10, 1/1000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
One of my Christmas Day gifts from Mother Nature was the chance to photograph an immature Great Blue Heron in a field. The young Great Blue Heron was foraging in a farmer’s field because all of the water nearby was covered in ice. These herons will switch from a diet of fish to small mammals when they can’t get through the ice.
The field the heron was in is right next to the road and with my long lens and teleconverter attached basically all I could do was take portraits of this immature Great Blue Heron.
Immature Great Blue Heron portrait on Christmas Day – Nikon D500, f10, 1/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
Anyone that knows me, even just a little, knows that I take great delight in taking portraits and close ups of my bird and animal subjects because of the wonderful and intricate fine details that are visible in them.
There is a Great Blue Heron rookery near the nature center at Farmington Bay WMA not far from where this young bird was photographed. A healthy population of these large wading birds inhabit the marshes at the WMA.
Immature Great Blue Heron close up on Christmas Day – Nikon D500, f8, 1/2500, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
This immature Great Blue Heron is experiencing its first winter in northern Utah which hasn’t been snowy so far down in the valley. With snow on the forecast this week it may get rougher on this young bird but these herons are tougher than they look.
Immature Great Blue Heron in a farmer’s field – Nikon D810, f7.1, 1/2500, ISO 500, Nikkor 18-200mm VR at 200mm, natural light
For a few moments I put my bird gear down, grabbed my backup D810 with my 18-200mm VR lens attached and took a series of images that showed the immature Great Blue Heron in the field in a wider view. When I took this photo the young bird was moving slowly through the grasses in search of prey.
I was delighted to have two sessions with this immature Great Blue Heron.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my Great Blue Heron photos plus facts and information about this species.
About halfway through your post I realized that I was wearing a big ol’ goofy grin on my face — that’s what a GBH youngster will do to me! 😀 What a delight!
Terrific portraits. Love the eye contact. Thanks Mia.
As always, informative with wonderful photography. Thanks for your efforts, Mia, Happy New Year!
You have done a pleasing study of this creature, foraging for food in a new habitat.
What a WONDERFUL gift. And yes, birds are indeed tougher than they look. They need to be.
Dinosaurs!
Great shots, love em all!!
Spectacular photos Mia