{"id":55211,"date":"2018-12-04T05:45:38","date_gmt":"2018-12-04T12:45:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=55211"},"modified":"2025-10-09T16:43:31","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T21:43:31","slug":"resting-great-blue-heron-with-american-coots-at-the-local-pond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/12\/04\/resting-great-blue-heron-with-american-coots-at-the-local-pond\/","title":{"rendered":"Resting Great Blue Heron With American Coots At The Local Pond"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"RestingResting Great Blue Heron with American Coots – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

This setting may look familiar to keen eyed viewers who saw my image yesterday of American Coots in a snow storm.<\/p>\n

This photo of a resting Great Blue Heron with American Coots was taken yesterday afternoon when the sun was shining on the same shoreline of my local pond as one of the photos I shared here on my blog yesterday.<\/p>\n

The light was brighter and it wasn’t snowing so the two images of the same location have a different “feel” to them.<\/p>\n

\"AmericanAmerican Coots in a snow storm \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/320, ISO 800, +1.0 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I’m posting this photo again for easy comparison. Is one image more appealing than the other because of the different light and the weather conditions?<\/p>\n

Really that is just a matter of personal taste and personal taste varies greatly from one person to the next. Both images have appeal to me.<\/p>\n

Great Blue Herons are year round residents here in northern Utah, they get through the snow storms and the bitter cold of our winters much the same as our other year round resident birds and are just as tough.<\/p>\n

This Great Blue Heron<\/span><\/a> may be seen at my local pond off and on this winter depending on whether the pond completely ices over this winter.<\/p>\n

Last year this pond never did freeze completely for shore to shore but last winter was pretty “warm” compared to previous winters and it never stayed cold enough for long enough for the pond to ice over completely.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

This photo of a resting Great Blue Heron with American Coots was taken yesterday afternoon when the sun was shining on the same shoreline of my local pond as one of the photos I shared here on my blog yesterday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":152975,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[137,27,166,709,26],"tags":[4010,4117,2772,2773,768,4121,3987,627,626,1984,4050,4509,4500,8018,313],"class_list":["post-55211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-american-coots","category-avian","category-great-blue-herons","category-salt-lake-county-utah","category-utah","tag-american-coot","tag-ardea-herodias","tag-coot","tag-coots","tag-falling-snow","tag-fulica-americana","tag-great-blue-heron","tag-heron","tag-herons","tag-pond","tag-snow","tag-snow-storm","tag-storm","tag-urban","tag-wading-birds"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/great-blue-heron-american-coots-pond-mia-mcpherson-2389.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-emv","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":55202,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/12\/03\/american-coots-canada-geese-in-a-winter-snow-storm\/","url_meta":{"origin":55211,"position":0},"title":"American Coots & Canada Geese In A Winter Snow Storm","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 3, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Neither of these images will knock anyone's socks off but for me they show these coots and geese in the snow storm and the harsh conditions they live in, just birds being birds.","rel":"","context":"In "American Coots"","block_context":{"text":"American Coots","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/gruiformes\/american-coots\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Canada Geese in a winter snow storm, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/canada-geese-snow-storm-mia-mcpherson-2314.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/canada-geese-snow-storm-mia-mcpherson-2314.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/canada-geese-snow-storm-mia-mcpherson-2314.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/canada-geese-snow-storm-mia-mcpherson-2314.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":120837,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/02\/11\/urban-american-coot-close-up-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":55211,"position":1},"title":"Urban American Coot Close Up Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 11, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Because it was a bright, sunny day yesterday morning, I went down to my local ponds. I photographed an American Coot munching on frosty grass near one of them.","rel":"","context":"In "American Coots"","block_context":{"text":"American Coots","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/gruiformes\/american-coots\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Urban American Coot in winter, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/american-coot-winter-pondside-mia-mcpherson-7535.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/american-coot-winter-pondside-mia-mcpherson-7535.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/american-coot-winter-pondside-mia-mcpherson-7535.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/american-coot-winter-pondside-mia-mcpherson-7535.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":109303,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/01\/04\/gadwall-drake-resting-in-snow\/","url_meta":{"origin":55211,"position":2},"title":"Gadwall Drake Resting In Snow","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 4, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning I'm sharing photos of a Gadwall drake resting in snow plus a bonus photo of the leucistic American Coot taken yesterday in afternoon light.","rel":"","context":"In "American Coots"","block_context":{"text":"American Coots","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/gruiformes\/american-coots\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Gadwall drake resting in snow, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/gadwall-drake-resting-in-snow-mia-mcpherson-7570.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/gadwall-drake-resting-in-snow-mia-mcpherson-7570.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/gadwall-drake-resting-in-snow-mia-mcpherson-7570.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/gadwall-drake-resting-in-snow-mia-mcpherson-7570.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":108197,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/11\/23\/american-coot-and-funky-reflection\/","url_meta":{"origin":55211,"position":3},"title":"American Coot And Funky Reflection","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 23, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I spent about 45 minutes at my local pond yesterday afternoon and one of my favorite images from being there was this American Coot with a funky reflection.","rel":"","context":"In "American Coots"","block_context":{"text":"American Coots","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/gruiformes\/american-coots\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"American Coot reflection, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/american-coot-adult-reflection-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\/2022\/11\/american-coot-adult-reflection-mia-mcpherson-4464.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/american-coot-adult-reflection-mia-mcpherson-4464.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/american-coot-adult-reflection-mia-mcpherson-4464.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":115372,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/08\/24\/baby-american-coot-images\/","url_meta":{"origin":55211,"position":4},"title":"Baby American Coot Images","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 24, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday morning, I spent some time taking photos of baby American Coots not far from where I live. It does seem late in the summer for coot chicks.","rel":"","context":"In "American Coots"","block_context":{"text":"American Coots","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/gruiformes\/american-coots\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Baby American Coot in Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/american-coot-baby-summer-mia-mcpherson-8459.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/american-coot-baby-summer-mia-mcpherson-8459.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/american-coot-baby-summer-mia-mcpherson-8459.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/american-coot-baby-summer-mia-mcpherson-8459.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":77816,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/01\/15\/photographing-winter-birds\/","url_meta":{"origin":55211,"position":5},"title":"Photographing Winter Birds","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 15, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"I spent a couple of hours yesterday photographing winter birds at Farmington Bay WMA and closer to home in the morning and afternoon.","rel":"","context":"In "American Coots"","block_context":{"text":"American Coots","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/gruiformes\/american-coots\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Drake Common Goldeneye displaying, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/common-goldeneye-drake-displaying-mia-mcpherson-8180.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/common-goldeneye-drake-displaying-mia-mcpherson-8180.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/common-goldeneye-drake-displaying-mia-mcpherson-8180.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/common-goldeneye-drake-displaying-mia-mcpherson-8180.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\/55211","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=55211"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55211\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152975"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}