{"id":100674,"date":"2022-03-14T05:28:28","date_gmt":"2022-03-14T11:28:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=100674"},"modified":"2024-02-01T08:54:10","modified_gmt":"2024-02-01T15:54:10","slug":"young-great-blue-heron-in-front-of-the-promontory-mountains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/03\/14\/young-great-blue-heron-in-front-of-the-promontory-mountains\/","title":{"rendered":"Young Great Blue Heron In Front Of The Promontory Mountains"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week I had one great trip to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge<\/span><\/a> and one trip that wasn’t so great. This photo is from the one that wasn’t comfortable at all. I still shiver when I think about that second trip up to the refuge.<\/p>\n

\"ImmatureImmature Great Blue Heron flying in front of snow covered mountains \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/5000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I liked this image of an immature Great Blue Heron flying in front of the snow covered Promontory Mountains<\/span><\/a> even though the heron is small in the frame. The refuge covers a large area of the valley and having the heron small in the frame is a visual reminder of that for me. When I visit the refuge I feel small in the grand scope of nature. That isn’t a bad thing, it just is.<\/p>\n

It was nice to see snow on the Promontory Mountains. There hasn’t been much of that fluffy white stuff fall this winter.<\/p>\n

Seconds after I took this photo a small flock of Green-winged Teals flew along with the immature heron for a short distance.<\/p>\n

The adult Great Blue Herons at the refuge are sporting their breeding plumage already. The herons that hatched last year will have to wait a while to look like them.<\/p>\n

Since there are very few trees out on the marshes at the refuge I suspect that the Great Blue Herons at Bear River MBR nest on the ground. The herons at Farmington Bay WMA to the south of the refuge are incubating eggs and I suspect that they are incubating at the refuge too. Great Blue Herons nest early here in northern Utah.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Great Blue Heron photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":100672,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[124,27,1148,166,26],"tags":[4117,4052,4122,3987,627,626,4067,4094,4069,4528,4043,4050,313,4095,373,4193],"class_list":["post-100674","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-great-blue-herons","category-utah","tag-ardea-herodias","tag-flight","tag-flying","tag-great-blue-heron","tag-heron","tag-herons","tag-immature","tag-marsh","tag-mountains","tag-promontory-mountains","tag-small-in-frame","tag-snow","tag-wading-birds","tag-wetlands","tag-winter","tag-young"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/great-blue-heron-immature-flight-mountains-mia-mcpherson-1398.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-qbM","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":101968,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/04\/29\/adult-black-crowned-night-heron-in-flight\/","url_meta":{"origin":100674,"position":0},"title":"Adult Black-crowned Night Heron In Flight","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 29, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Black-crowned Night Heron flying in front of the Promontory Mountains, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/black-crowned-night-heron-adult-flight-mia-mcpherson-2033.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/black-crowned-night-heron-adult-flight-mia-mcpherson-2033.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/black-crowned-night-heron-adult-flight-mia-mcpherson-2033.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/black-crowned-night-heron-adult-flight-mia-mcpherson-2033.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":48420,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/09\/11\/wading-birds-at-bear-river-mbr-yesterday\/","url_meta":{"origin":100674,"position":1},"title":"Wading Birds At Bear River MBR Yesterday","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 11, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I had fun photographing the juvenile Great Blue Heron, juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron and the adult Snowy Egret yesterday at Bear River MBR. I especially loved the clearer skies.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Flying juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron with Promontory Mountains in the distance, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/black-crowned-night-heron-juvenile-flight-promontory-mia-mcpherson-2755.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/black-crowned-night-heron-juvenile-flight-promontory-mia-mcpherson-2755.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/black-crowned-night-heron-juvenile-flight-promontory-mia-mcpherson-2755.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/black-crowned-night-heron-juvenile-flight-promontory-mia-mcpherson-2755.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":74822,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/10\/22\/immature-great-blue-heron-with-and-without-the-hand-of-man\/","url_meta":{"origin":100674,"position":2},"title":"Immature Great Blue Heron – With And Without The Hand Of Man","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 22, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Is one of these immature Great Blue Heron images more visually appealing than the other? That depends on the personal tastes of the person viewing them.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Immature Great Blue Heron in flight right after lift off, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/great-blue-heron-immature-flight-mia-mcpherson-8824.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/great-blue-heron-immature-flight-mia-mcpherson-8824.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/great-blue-heron-immature-flight-mia-mcpherson-8824.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/great-blue-heron-immature-flight-mia-mcpherson-8824.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":37192,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/03\/19\/great-blue-heron-at-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":100674,"position":3},"title":"Great Blue Heron at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 19, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"These images of a Great Blue Heron at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge were taken last September on the auto tour route at the refuge.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Great Blue Heron with raised crown, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/great-blue-heron-perched-mia-mcpherson-2849.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/great-blue-heron-perched-mia-mcpherson-2849.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/great-blue-heron-perched-mia-mcpherson-2849.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/great-blue-heron-perched-mia-mcpherson-2849.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":27846,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/08\/27\/smokey-skies-and-a-great-blue-heron-in-flight\/","url_meta":{"origin":100674,"position":4},"title":"Smokey Skies And A Great Blue Heron In Flight","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 27, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"On a clear day this Great Blue Heron image would have shown the Promontory Mountains in the distant background instead of the dull gray seen here.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Smokey skies and a Great Blue Heron in flight, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/great-blue-heron-flight-mia-mcpherson-0649.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/great-blue-heron-flight-mia-mcpherson-0649.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/great-blue-heron-flight-mia-mcpherson-0649.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/great-blue-heron-flight-mia-mcpherson-0649.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":119530,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/01\/05\/winter-great-blue-heron-on-thin-bear-river-ice\/","url_meta":{"origin":100674,"position":5},"title":"Winter Great Blue Heron On Thin Bear River Ice – Utah Is On Thin Ice Too","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 5, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I photographed this Great Blue Heron almost two years ago, walking gingerly on the thinning ice of the Bear River. I was on my way to the auto tour loop at the refuge when I spotted this heron.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Great Blue Heron falling through ice on the Bear River, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/great-blue-heron-winter-bear-river-ice-mia-mcpherson-4464.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/great-blue-heron-winter-bear-river-ice-mia-mcpherson-4464.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/great-blue-heron-winter-bear-river-ice-mia-mcpherson-4464.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/great-blue-heron-winter-bear-river-ice-mia-mcpherson-4464.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100674","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100674"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100674\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/100672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100674"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100674"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100674"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}