Families: Ardeidae, Ciconiidae, Phoenicopteridae, Threskiorithidae
Wading birds are long legged, long necked, long billed birds that include herons, egrets, flamingos, ibis, bitterns, spoonbills, and storks. Many of the wading birds forage by wading in shallow water but not all do that exclusively, some wading birds forage in pastures, wet meadows, on beaches, fresh and saltwater shorelines, grassy slopes, mudflats or from vegetation in marshes.
I drove up to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge early yesterday morning where the first bird I photographed was a Great Blue Heron standing on driftwood.
I didn't anticipate seeing many birds when I arrived in Farmington Bay early yesterday morning. I was tickled to photograph this immature White-faced Ibis.
When this Snowy Egret emerged from the shadows and into the sunlight yesterday morning, I briefly forgot to breathe. The egret appeared to be glowing.
This morning I decided to share photos of a Great Blue Heron with a cow behind it that I photographed resting on a snag above the Bear River.
I took a photos of a White-faced Ibis glowing in the morning light at Farmington Bay on Monday. This is why I am out and photographing so early in the morning.
This past Monday I focused on taking Snowy Egret images after taking photos of a Virginia Rail and Lesser Yellowlegs at a near empty pond At Farmington Bay.
Sunday morning at Bear River MBR I could have been found photographing a flock of White-faced Ibis from the north side of the auto tour route.
On my last trip up to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge I came across this Great Blue Heron and spent only one minute photographing the large wading bird.
Almost a year ago I had this adult Black-crowned Night Heron in my viewfinder as it flew in front of the Promontory Mountains at Bear River MBR.
I liked this image of an immature Great Blue Heron flying in front of the snow covered Promontory Mountains even though the heron is small in the frame.
The photo I liked the most from yesterday was of winter waterfowl on a small pond with mist rising from the water and hoar frost covering the vegetation.
On my last trip up to Bear River MBR when I found a Great Blue Heron warming up on the bank of the Bear River I considered not taking any images of it.
The breeding season has begun for the Great Blue Herons at the Farmington Bay rookery and throughout northern Utah.
While I was at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge two days ago I was able to take quite a few Great Blue Heron images of four individual herons in the marsh.
On my last trip to Farmington Bay WMA earlier this month I found a small flock of overwintering White-faced Ibis that were too far away to photograph.
On my last trip to Farmington Bay WMA ten days ago one of my birdy subjects was an adult Great Blue Heron in a light fog out on the playa in morning light.
Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge can be a great location to take winter Great Blue Heron photos out on the frozen marshes and wetlands during January.
I did get out to find and photograph birds on Christmas Day at Farmington Bay WMA and then later in the morning I found more closer to home.
These are all birds I have photographed on Christmas Day through the years and all of them were photographed at Farmington Bay WMA.
The Great Egret landed where I had views of Hooded and Common Mergansers and three Mallards resting on the ice on the Bear River.
To my delight I was able to take Great Blue Heron photos yesterday on the Winter Solstice that I found on the banks of the Bear River at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
I haven't been outside to measure the snow but I'd estimate that 6 to 8 inches have fallen already just by looking out my living room window.
I selected this hatch year Great Blue Heron photo to share today because it showed the young bird taking a crap on the flats of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
I'd almost forgotten about this White-faced Ibis close up photo that I took at the end of last month in the wetlands of Farmington Bay WMA.
Thirteen years ago this morning I photographed a Great Blue Heron, Belt of Venus and the Earth Shadow on the north beach of Fort De Soto County Park on the west coast of Florida.
Yesterday morning I took a series of photos of a Snowy Egret at Farmington Bay WMA with the strangest shadows I have ever seen.
Nearly hidden in the marsh vegetation was an immature Black-crowned Night Heron perched on some phrags at the edge of the water.
I liked these Snowy Egret photos because of the contrast of the bird's stark white plumage against the deep blue of the sky reflected on the water.
Yesterday was kind of an opening day at Farmington Bay and the Snowy Egret show was the highlight of the day.
The reports of snow in the mountains made me think of this Snowy Egret photo I took in August of 2017 with the Promontory Mountains in the background.