{"id":4531,"date":"2012-02-25T05:19:42","date_gmt":"2012-02-25T12:19:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=4531"},"modified":"2025-08-19T05:09:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T10:09:09","slug":"great-blue-heron-in-low-light","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/02\/25\/great-blue-heron-in-low-light\/","title":{"rendered":"Great Blue Heron in Low Light"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"GreatGreat Blue Heron in pre-dawn light – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1\/640, ISO 250, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 240mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The sun had not yet crested the eastern horizon when I photographed this Great Blue Heron as it hunted in the shallow waters on the shoreline of the Gulf of Mexico.<\/p>\n

Although I could have waited for better light I wanted to capture this heron as it stalked its prey just before the golden light of dawn arrived so I laid down on the sugar sand created a nice series of images of this bird.<\/p>\n

The tide was very low that morning and that exposed an off shore sandbar that is seen on the horizon as a gray line and just above that is the Earth’s shadow<\/span><\/a>.<\/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":"

The sun had not yet crested the eastern horizon when I photographed this Great Blue Heron as it hunted in the shallow waters on the shoreline of the Gulf of Mexico.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":152752,"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":[27,25,704,166,2000],"tags":[4004,4117,4021,5229,5132,1030,4198,3987,4077,627,626,156,4930,313,3996],"class_list":["post-4531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-florida","category-fort-de-soto-county-park","category-great-blue-herons","category-pinellas-county-florida","tag-adult","tag-ardea-herodias","tag-bird-photography","tag-coast","tag-coastal","tag-dawn","tag-earth-shadow","tag-great-blue-heron","tag-gulf-of-mexico","tag-heron","tag-herons","tag-low-light-2","tag-low-tide","tag-wading-birds","tag-water"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/great-blue-heron-pre-dawn-mia-mcpherson-4050.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-1b5","jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6365,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/10\/15\/ive-got-the-blues-great-blue-herons-that-is\/","url_meta":{"origin":4531,"position":0},"title":"I’ve Got The Blues – Great Blue Herons That Is!","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 15, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"It seems I have always had a fondness for Great Blue Herons although I don't recall the first time I ever saw one. Great Blues are large wading birds that have a prehistoric look to them and even their calls; more like a croak, sound like something from the long\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Great Blue Heron portrait - Warm morning light, 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-6455.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-6455.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-6455.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-6455.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5884,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/08\/11\/little-blue-heron-on-the-hunt\/","url_meta":{"origin":4531,"position":1},"title":"Little Blue Heron On The Hunt","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 11, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"This Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea) was photographed in Florida as it hunted for prey in a shallow lagoon the edge of a marsh in late afternoon light.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Little Blue Heron on the hunt, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/little-blue-heron-adult-mia-mcpherson-7723.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/little-blue-heron-adult-mia-mcpherson-7723.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/little-blue-heron-adult-mia-mcpherson-7723.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/little-blue-heron-adult-mia-mcpherson-7723.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":141865,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/03\/21\/great-blue-heron-at-arkansas-river-valley-nature-center\/","url_meta":{"origin":4531,"position":2},"title":"Great Blue Heron At Arkansas River Valley Nature Center","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 21, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I photographed this Great Blue Heron in low light last week at the Arkansas River Valley Nature Center. The heron and its reflection caught my eye.","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Great Blue Heron at Wells Lake, Arkansas River Valley Nature Center, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/great-blue-heron-wells-lake-mia-mcpherson-7862.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/great-blue-heron-wells-lake-mia-mcpherson-7862.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/great-blue-heron-wells-lake-mia-mcpherson-7862.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/great-blue-heron-wells-lake-mia-mcpherson-7862.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":46872,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/05\/21\/preening-great-blue-heron-in-the-gulf-of-mexico\/","url_meta":{"origin":4531,"position":3},"title":"Preening Great Blue Heron In The Gulf Of Mexico","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 21, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"This photo of a preening Great Blue Heron on an old stump in the water of the Gulf of Mexico is far from perfect but I still like it for the behavior that it shows.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Preening Great Blue Heron on an old stump, 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-preening-mia-mcpherson-6233.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-preening-mia-mcpherson-6233.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/great-blue-heron-preening-mia-mcpherson-6233.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/great-blue-heron-preening-mia-mcpherson-6233.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":110536,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/02\/26\/golden-hour-urban-great-blue-heron\/","url_meta":{"origin":4531,"position":4},"title":"Golden Hour: Urban Great Blue Heron","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 26, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The last time I photographed at a local park I found a Great Blue Heron resting in the water at the edge of a pond in the golden light found just after dawn.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Urban Great Blue Heron in golden light, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/great-blue-heron-local-pond-mia-mcpherson-4255.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/great-blue-heron-local-pond-mia-mcpherson-4255.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/great-blue-heron-local-pond-mia-mcpherson-4255.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/great-blue-heron-local-pond-mia-mcpherson-4255.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3985,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/01\/10\/great-blue-heron-at-sunrise\/","url_meta":{"origin":4531,"position":5},"title":"Great Blue Heron at Sunrise","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 10, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Another one of the reasons I enjoy this photo is that the eye of the Great Blue Heron has a colored catchlight that is from the sun glowing yellow on the eastern horizon.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Great Blue Heron portrait at sunrise, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/great-blue-heron-sunrise-mia-mcpherson-3808.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/great-blue-heron-sunrise-mia-mcpherson-3808.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/great-blue-heron-sunrise-mia-mcpherson-3808.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/great-blue-heron-sunrise-mia-mcpherson-3808.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\/4531","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=4531"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4531\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152752"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}