{"id":55828,"date":"2019-01-27T05:56:10","date_gmt":"2019-01-27T12:56:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=55828"},"modified":"2025-08-20T05:43:41","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T10:43:41","slug":"great-blue-heron-on-ice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/01\/27\/great-blue-heron-on-ice\/","title":{"rendered":"Great Blue Heron On Ice"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"GreatGreat Blue Heron on ice with frost flowers – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

After miles and miles and miles of travel yesterday my best images were of an adult Great Blue Heron on ice with frost flowers in the frame.<\/p>\n

I saw plenty of birds including Bald and Golden Eagles, various duck species, Pied-billed Grebes, gulls, Red-tailed and Rough-legged Hawks, pheasants, Horned Larks, harriers, sparrows, turkeys, magpies and more but the only decent images I took were of two different Great Blue Herons.<\/p>\n

The other Great Blue Heron was also on ice but I didn’t care for the images as much as I did for my photos this heron because there was vegetation very close to the other heron that I felt were a touch distracting.<\/p>\n

It was about 16\u00b0F when I took this photo so it is no wonder that the heron was scrunched down and fluffed up a bit. I’d have been frozen solid if I had spent the night out on that frigid marsh with temps in the teens.<\/p>\n

The heron even has a tiny piece of frost stuck on its lower mandible and some frost near where its plume touches its upper back. Brr. Make no mistake, these herons are tough!<\/p>\n

Many of the units at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge<\/span><\/a> had what we call “frost flowers” on the ice which are areas where frost crystals are deposited on the ice crystals that can form to look like flowers and they can be seen in this image surrounding the heron on the ice shelf it was standing on.<\/p>\n

I’m grateful that I had at least two cooperative birds yesterday because most of the rest of them were way too skittish to photograph or were perched on power poles as still as statues with their backs to me or had power lines in front of their faces.<\/p>\n

So I have a Great Blue Heron on ice which kind of sounds like it should be a mixed drink for birders and bird photographers or anyone who loves birds. Something with Cura\u00e7ao in it perhaps?<\/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":"

After miles and miles and miles of travel yesterday my best images were of an adult Great Blue Heron on ice with frost flowers in the frame. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":152986,"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":[4004,4117,4533,3987,627,626,4064,4094,313,4095,373],"class_list":["post-55828","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-frost-flowers","tag-great-blue-heron","tag-heron","tag-herons","tag-ice","tag-marsh","tag-wading-birds","tag-wetlands","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/great-blue-heron-on-ice-mia-mcpherson-5496.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-ews","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":98748,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/01\/07\/winter-great-blue-heron-photos-from-bear-river-mbr\/","url_meta":{"origin":55828,"position":0},"title":"Winter Great Blue Heron Photos From Bear River MBR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 7, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge can be a great location to take winter Great Blue Heron photos out on the frozen marshes and wetlands during January.","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 lifting off from a shelf of ice, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/great-blue-heron-lifting-off-from-ice-mia-mcpherson-0627.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/great-blue-heron-lifting-off-from-ice-mia-mcpherson-0627.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/great-blue-heron-lifting-off-from-ice-mia-mcpherson-0627.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/great-blue-heron-lifting-off-from-ice-mia-mcpherson-0627.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":62970,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/01\/20\/concentrating-on-great-blue-herons-in-winter\/","url_meta":{"origin":55828,"position":1},"title":"Concentrating On Great Blue Herons In Winter","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 20, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"There were plenty of Great Blue Herons to photograph yesterday morning at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and I was more than happy to take photos of them.","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 in winter 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-flight-mia-mcpherson-4283.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-flight-mia-mcpherson-4283.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-flight-mia-mcpherson-4283.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-flight-mia-mcpherson-4283.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"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":55828,"position":2},"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":117958,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/11\/08\/great-blue-heron-photos-in-winter\/","url_meta":{"origin":55828,"position":3},"title":"Great Blue Heron Photos In Winter","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 8, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","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":"Fluffed up Great Blue Heron walking on ice, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/great-blue-heron-winter-ice-mia-mcpherson-3169.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/great-blue-heron-winter-ice-mia-mcpherson-3169.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/great-blue-heron-winter-ice-mia-mcpherson-3169.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/great-blue-heron-winter-ice-mia-mcpherson-3169.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":55828,"position":4},"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 - Small in frame, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/great-blue-heron-winter-ice-mia-mcpherson-3071.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-winter-ice-mia-mcpherson-3071.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/great-blue-heron-winter-ice-mia-mcpherson-3071.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/great-blue-heron-winter-ice-mia-mcpherson-3071.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":109125,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/12\/30\/great-blue-heron-on-ice-at-farmington-bay-wma\/","url_meta":{"origin":55828,"position":5},"title":"Great Blue Heron On Ice At Farmington Bay WMA","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 30, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I had some fun photographing a Great Blue Heron on ice along with its shadow yesterday morning on a pond at Farmington Bay WMA.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Yawning Great Blue Heron on ice, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/great-blue-heron-and-shadow-on-ice-mia-mcpherson-6888.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/great-blue-heron-and-shadow-on-ice-mia-mcpherson-6888.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/great-blue-heron-and-shadow-on-ice-mia-mcpherson-6888.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/great-blue-heron-and-shadow-on-ice-mia-mcpherson-6888.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\/55828","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=55828"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55828\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}