{"id":117958,"date":"2023-11-08T04:07:20","date_gmt":"2023-11-08T11:07:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=117958"},"modified":"2023-11-08T10:56:11","modified_gmt":"2023-11-08T17:56:11","slug":"great-blue-heron-photos-in-winter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/11\/08\/great-blue-heron-photos-in-winter\/","title":{"rendered":"Great Blue Heron Photos In Winter"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you want to take Great Blue Heron photos in winter, on snow and ice, then head to Bear River MBR<\/span><\/a> in Utah after the marsh freezes and the snow starts to fall.<\/p>\n

\"GreatGreat Blue Heron close up on ice \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/3200, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Winter is when I have taken some of my favorite images of this heron species at the refuge. I’ve taken photos of these herons in fog<\/span><\/a> so thick that I could barely see the birds. The herons looked especially prehistoric in dense fog.<\/p>\n

\"GreatGreat Blue Heron hunting from an ice shelf \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2500, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

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All of these photos are from one trip to the refuge this past winter. It was a spectacular morning. I’ve already shared more than a dozen images of a Great Blue Heron slipping and sliding on the ice<\/span><\/a> from that day. I also shared a few of the heron when I was photographing a Goldeneye-Merganser showdown<\/span><\/a> from the same morning.<\/p>\n

I’ve had these images of herons on ice waiting in a folder, to share, and today is as good a day as any.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\"FluffedFluffed up Great Blue Heron walking on ice \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2000, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

That winter morning was truly delightful. It was bright and cold, and I had dozens of birds in my viewfinder all to myself. It was quiet, peaceful, and yet exhilarating at the same time.<\/p>\n

\"GreatGreat Blue Heron in a winter wonderland \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2000, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

This heron had my full attention for a good long time. The sparkles of the sunlight on the snow just added to what felt like magic to me in a gorgeous winter wonderland.<\/p>\n

\"GreatGreat Blue Heron watching winter ducks \u2013 Nikon D500, f16, 1\/640, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The heron stood watching the winter ducks in the water for a bit. It had already tried to swipe a shad from a Common Goldeneye earlier. If the large bird had even a half a chance to pirate a fish away from a duck, I am sure the heron would have given it a try.<\/p>\n

\"AdultAdult Great Blue Heron on an ice shelf at Bear River MBR \u2013 Nikon D500, f11, 1\/1250, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I took so many images that wonderful winter morning that I still haven’t gone through them all. After watching all the action and laughing for most of the time, I was a bit hoarse when I tried to talk later in the day.<\/p>\n

\"GreatGreat Blue Heron about to land on ice \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/4000, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Finding herons to photograph in the winter at the refuge isn’t all that hard. I look for them next to open water where they can fish. They need to eat to survive the bitter cold winter temperatures.<\/p>\n

The snow can also make them more visible since their plumage contrasts nicely against the pristine white background.<\/p>\n

\"WinterWinter Great Blue Heron on ice \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/4000, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

It doesn’t require any special skills to photograph Great Blue Herons in winter at the refuge, but I know for sure that it can feel like magic. Birds and magic in the marsh. I like that feeling.<\/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":"

If you want to take Great Blue Heron photos in winter, on snow and ice, then head to Bear River MBR in Utah after the marsh freezes and the snow starts to fall.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":117935,"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":[4004,4117,4142,126,4052,4309,4122,3987,627,626,3970,4064,8485,7768,4123,4094,850,313,4236,7015,4095,373,14560],"class_list":["post-117958","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-adult","tag-ardea-herodias","tag-close-up","tag-ducks-2","tag-flight","tag-fluffed-up","tag-flying","tag-great-blue-heron","tag-heron","tag-herons","tag-hunting","tag-ice","tag-ice-shelf","tag-land","tag-landing","tag-marsh","tag-photos","tag-wading-birds","tag-walking","tag-watching","tag-wetlands","tag-winter","tag-winter-wonderland"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/great-blue-heron-winter-ice-mia-mcpherson-3169.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-uGy","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":62505,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/01\/08\/photographing-great-blue-herons-on-the-frozen-marshes-of-bear-river-mbr\/","url_meta":{"origin":117958,"position":0},"title":"Photographing Great Blue Herons On The Frozen Marshes Of Bear River MBR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 8, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday morning I spent time focusing on photographing Great Blue Herons on the frozen marshes of Bear River Migratory Bird 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 and the frozen marsh at Bear River MBR, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/great-blue-heron-frozen-marsh-mia-mcpherson-0568.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/great-blue-heron-frozen-marsh-mia-mcpherson-0568.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/great-blue-heron-frozen-marsh-mia-mcpherson-0568.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/great-blue-heron-frozen-marsh-mia-mcpherson-0568.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":110398,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/02\/20\/great-blue-heron-on-ice-small-in-frame\/","url_meta":{"origin":117958,"position":1},"title":"Great Blue Heron On Ice – Small In Frame","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 20, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week I had the opportunity to photograph a Great Blue Heron on the ice at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, where the heron was small in the frame.","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 and its winter shadow - 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