{"id":1763,"date":"2011-01-08T18:33:41","date_gmt":"2011-01-09T01:33:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=1763"},"modified":"2025-09-17T15:47:58","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T20:47:58","slug":"gray-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2011\/01\/08\/gray-days\/","title":{"rendered":"Gray Days"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"GreatClose Great Blue Heron fly by – D200, f5.6, 1\/1600, ISO 500, 80-400mm VR at 260mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

My good friend Ron chides me for being the “eternal optimist” and I do deserve the\u00a0teasing he often gives me. I’m even optimistic on these gray, dreary and cloudy days.<\/p>\n

It seems there is always something to do even when the weather thwarts plans for going out to find birds to photograph because I know I’ll find something wonderful or fulfilling to do.<\/p>\n

I’ve been busy cooking today, I made two kinds of homemade soup. It smelled wonderful at home with the savory aromas of simmering soup wafting through the house.<\/p>\n

I also prepared the fixings for Chicken Monterey so I could wrap them up and freeze them for an easy meal when the weather does open up for bird photography.<\/p>\n

\"RoyalRoyal Tern preening on the Gulf shoreline –\u00a0 D200, f6.3, 1\/1600, ISO 200, 80-400mm VR, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Gray days sometimes force me to slow down, to take a deep breath and they allow\u00a0me\u00a0the luxury of \u00a0leisurely\u00a0looking through my older\u00a0image files one folder at a time.<\/p>\n

I’m often busy out in the field taking images of birds, so busy that there are days when I only get to edit a few files in a folder on the day I take the photos.<\/p>\n

So on gray days I revisit those folders and say hello to\u00a0my “old friends”, the birds in the files. I swear I’m not hyper but I can’t seem to resist selecting pictures to edit that I had not processed earlier.<\/p>\n

\"LongLong & Lean Great Blue Heron – D200, f5.6, 1\/1500, ISO 400, 80-400mm VR, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I’m not sure how or why I ended up looking at images from the folder that contained all of the images in this post but I’m glad I opened the folder up again.<\/p>\n

I can once again feel the wet sand under my body as I wiggle through it trying to get the best possible angles for the shots. I can smell the salt water, watch the feathers of the birds flutter in the sea breeze and feel the warmth of the sun caress me as I focus on my subjects.<\/p>\n

While it is gray outside it doesn’t feel that way inside my mind.<\/p>\n

There are quite a few images in this folder I had not edited yet but today because the of the grayness outdoors, I have time.<\/p>\n

\"RoyalRoyal Tern preening wing feathers – D200, f6.3, 1\/1250, ISO 200, 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The soups are done and stored away. It’s getting dark and I’m waiting for the snow to start falling from this storm. Despite it being a gray day it has been fulfilling.<\/p>\n

Got to go, there are more older bird images I want to edit.<\/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.\u00a0Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Royal Tern photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gray days sometimes force me to slow down, to take a deep breath and they allow me the luxury of liesurely looking through my older image files<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":110819,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,704,166,407],"tags":[4117,4021,4083,408,3987,627,626,4376,2090,629,4267,313],"class_list":["post-1763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-florida","category-fort-de-soto-county-park","category-great-blue-herons","category-royal-terns","tag-ardea-herodias","tag-bird-photography","tag-birding","tag-gray-days","tag-great-blue-heron","tag-heron","tag-herons","tag-royal-tern","tag-tern","tag-terns","tag-thalasseus-maximus","tag-wading-birds"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/great-blue-heron-flight-close-mia-mcpherson-5800.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-sr","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":136037,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/10\/29\/great-blue-heron-on-a-gray-autumn-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":1763,"position":0},"title":"Great Blue Heron On A Gray Autumn Day","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 29, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I photographed this Great Blue Heron two days ago when the autumn sky was gray with clouds on Sally Jones Lake at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Great Blue Heron on a gray autumn day, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/great-blue-heron-gray-fall-day-mia-mcpherson-4297.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/great-blue-heron-gray-fall-day-mia-mcpherson-4297.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/great-blue-heron-gray-fall-day-mia-mcpherson-4297.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/great-blue-heron-gray-fall-day-mia-mcpherson-4297.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":75235,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/11\/10\/great-blue-herons-arent-really-blue-so-whats-up-with-their-name\/","url_meta":{"origin":1763,"position":1},"title":"Great Blue Herons Aren’t Really Blue – So What’s Up With Their Name?","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 10, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The name \"Great Blue Heron\" has always seemed off to me because these large herons are much more gray than they are blue.","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":"Adult Great Blue Heron resting on ice in a frozen marsh, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/great-blue-heron-frozen-marsh-mia-mcpherson-3990.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/great-blue-heron-frozen-marsh-mia-mcpherson-3990.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/great-blue-heron-frozen-marsh-mia-mcpherson-3990.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/great-blue-heron-frozen-marsh-mia-mcpherson-3990.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":45708,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/03\/22\/age-related-color-morphs-of-little-blue-herons\/","url_meta":{"origin":1763,"position":2},"title":"Age Related Color Morphs of Little Blue Herons","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 22, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Little Blue Herons start off their lives with white plumage, then look piebald with blue and white fathers and finally look more \"blue\" as adults.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"First year Little Blue Heron, Roosevelt Wetland, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/little-blue-heron-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-4921.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/little-blue-heron-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-4921.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/little-blue-heron-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-4921.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/little-blue-heron-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-4921.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":47830,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/07\/30\/gray-windy-day-great-blue-heron-portrait\/","url_meta":{"origin":1763,"position":3},"title":"Gray & Windy Day Great Blue Heron Portrait","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 30, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"This Great Blue Heron wandered past me one December morning at Fort De Soto County Park's north beach on a gray, windy day and because it was close I simply had to take a photo of the large wading bird.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Close up Great Blue Heron on a gray day, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/great-blue-heron-portrait-mia-mcpherson-8008.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-portrait-mia-mcpherson-8008.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/great-blue-heron-portrait-mia-mcpherson-8008.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/great-blue-heron-portrait-mia-mcpherson-8008.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":139814,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/02\/13\/looking-forward-to-more-green-heron-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":1763,"position":4},"title":"Looking Forward To More Green Heron Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 13, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The last week or so has been too gray and wet to get out and photograph birds, but it has given me time to think about taking more Green Heron photos in Oklahoma.","rel":"","context":"In "Green Herons"","block_context":{"text":"Green Herons","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/wading-birds\/green-herons\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Subadult Green Heron on a late July morning, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/green-heron-fluffy-mia-mcpherson-7193.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/green-heron-fluffy-mia-mcpherson-7193.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/green-heron-fluffy-mia-mcpherson-7193.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/green-heron-fluffy-mia-mcpherson-7193.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7443,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/02\/06\/some-of-the-birds-i-love-at-bear-river-national-wildlife-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":1763,"position":5},"title":"Some of the Birds I Love at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 6, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"One of my favorite locations to photograph birds in northern Utah is Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. I've selected some of the birds there that delight and entertain me while I observe and photograph them.","rel":"","context":"In "American Avocets"","block_context":{"text":"American Avocets","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/shorebirds\/american-avocets\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Calling Eastern Kingbird on a barbed wire fence, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/eastern-kingbird-mia-mcpherson-5986.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/eastern-kingbird-mia-mcpherson-5986.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/eastern-kingbird-mia-mcpherson-5986.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/eastern-kingbird-mia-mcpherson-5986.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\/1763","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=1763"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1763\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/110819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}