{"id":29024,"date":"2015-10-06T06:31:42","date_gmt":"2015-10-06T12:31:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=29024"},"modified":"2024-11-09T05:45:07","modified_gmt":"2024-11-09T11:45:07","slug":"a-tricolored-heron-fishing-fluffing-in-the-gulf-of-mexico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/10\/06\/a-tricolored-heron-fishing-fluffing-in-the-gulf-of-mexico\/","title":{"rendered":"Tricolored Heron Fishing & Fluffing in the Gulf of Mexico"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"TricoloredTricolored Heron fluffing up after fishing in the Gulf – Nikon D200, handheld, f5.6, 1\/1500, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 360mm, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Seven years ago I could be found most often walking along the Gulf of Mexico at Fort De Soto County Park’s north beach in search of birds to photograph. By October the temperatures would drop in Florida and actually feel quite comfortable while I wandered around looking for subjects to focus on. Some times the best action was in or near the lagoons and other times the best action was on the Gulf of Mexico’s shoreline.<\/p>\n

On October 2, 2008 crashing waves from a distant storm brought the best bird activity on the Gulf side and I spent nearly half an hour photographing a Tricolored Heron searching for prey where the waves met the beach. If the heron got splashed with enough water it would shake off before fishing again.<\/p>\n

\"TricoloredA Tricolored Heron with its prey in mid air – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1\/1250, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 310mm, natural light, not baited
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

I must have seen the Tricolored Heron catch nearly a dozen small fish that morning and I kept hoping that I would catch it tossing the fish just before it swallowed it because that meant I might get to photograph the fish in mid air. Being ready for that kind of shot worked out for me more than once that day with this heron. It pays to know your subject and their behaviors.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

Seven years ago I could be found most often walking along the Gulf of Mexico at Fort De Soto County Park’s north beach in search of birds to photograph.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":136586,"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":[27,25,704,254],"tags":[4004,970,5132,4286,4116,4620,4379,4438,173,4077,627,626,4246,4106,3989,313,4119],"class_list":["post-29024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-florida","category-fort-de-soto-county-park","category-tricolored-herons","tag-adult","tag-autumn","tag-coastal","tag-eating","tag-egretta-tricolor","tag-fall","tag-fishing","tag-fluffing","tag-gulf-coast","tag-gulf-of-mexico","tag-heron","tag-herons","tag-nonbreeding-plumage","tag-prey","tag-tricolored-heron","tag-wading-birds","tag-waves"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/tricolored-heron-prey-mia-mcpherson-4146.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-7y8","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":16024,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/10\/02\/tricolored-heron-hunting-the-gulf-of-mexicos-shoreline\/","url_meta":{"origin":29024,"position":0},"title":"Tricolored Heron Hunting The Gulf Of Mexico’s Shoreline","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 2, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Tricolored Herons are smaller than Great Blue Herons and larger than Snowy Egrets and all three of these wading birds hunt in many of the same locations along the Gulf Coast.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Tricolored Heron hunting the Gulf of Mexico\u2019s shoreline, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/tricolored-heron-foraging-mia-mcpherson-2893.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/tricolored-heron-foraging-mia-mcpherson-2893.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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"Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Tricolored Heron resting after eating, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/tricolored-heron-surf-mia-mcpherson-2177.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/tricolored-heron-surf-mia-mcpherson-2177.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/tricolored-heron-surf-mia-mcpherson-2177.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/tricolored-heron-surf-mia-mcpherson-2177.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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many foraging behaviors to obtain their prey including walking quickly then crouching before stabbing their prey.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Crouching Tricolored Heron, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/tricolored-heron-crouching-mia-mcpherson-1314.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/tricolored-heron-crouching-mia-mcpherson-1314.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/tricolored-heron-crouching-mia-mcpherson-1314.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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