{"id":63480,"date":"2020-01-28T05:36:04","date_gmt":"2020-01-28T12:36:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=63480"},"modified":"2022-01-20T06:08:31","modified_gmt":"2022-01-20T13:08:31","slug":"great-blue-herons-in-heavy-fog-at-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/01\/28\/great-blue-herons-in-heavy-fog-at-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/","title":{"rendered":"Great Blue Herons In Heavy Fog At Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"GreatGreat Blue Heron on a very foggy morning – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 800, +1.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Yesterday was one of those mornings when the hourly forecast and the radar\/satellite imagery didn’t seem to match up at all and because of that I ended up at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge<\/span><\/a> where the fog was about the thickest I have ever seen it at the refuge.<\/p>\n

There was one other time I’d gone to the refuge with my friend Jolie Gordon when we went there looking for a Snowy Owl that had been reported. We didn’t find the Snowy Owl but we did come home with some wonderful, foggy photos of Barn Owls in flight<\/span><\/a>. Despite the foggy weather that day Jolie and I had a wonderful time and the weather conditions tested our skills.<\/p>\n

Yesterday I made up my mind that I would make the best of the foggy conditions and before I got to the the auto tour loop I hoped that I would see some swans in the heavy fog. I’ve taken photos of Tundra Swans before in foggy, snowy conditions<\/span><\/a> and loved the resulting images.<\/p>\n

I didn’t find or even hear swans yesterday. I did find and photograph some Great Blue Herons on the west side of the auto tour route at the refuge in the heaviest fog I believe I have ever photographed in.<\/p>\n

Taking the photos of the Great Blues in the thick layer of fog tested my skills as a bird photographer.<\/p>\n

\"GreatGreat Blue Heron landing in heavy fog – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2000, ISO 800, +1.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I actually welcomed the challenge. Why? Because taking photographs on sunny days doesn’t challenge me as much as taking bird photos in poor conditions does. I also know that when I photograph in adverse conditions that it is an opportunity to increase and grow my skills.<\/p>\n

These foggy Great Blue Heron photos are probably the foggiest images in my portfolio and despite that I truly like how they turned out. Challenge met and celebrated.<\/p>\n

\"BearBear River MBR on a foggy January morning – Nikon D810, f6.3, 1\/2500, ISO 800, +1.0 EV, Nikkor 18-200mm VR at 31mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Poor weather conditions aren’t always a bad thing to be met with in the field. They can also be an opportunity to take images that are unique and visually interesting.<\/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":"

These foggy Great Blue Heron photos are probably the foggiest images in my portfolio and despite that I truly like how they turned out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":99116,"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":[4004,4117,8480,4175,3984,3987,8479,627,626,4064,4123,4094,6568,4050,313,4095,373],"class_list":["post-63480","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-challenges","tag-fog","tag-foggy","tag-great-blue-heron","tag-heavy-fog","tag-heron","tag-herons","tag-ice","tag-landing","tag-marsh","tag-skills","tag-snow","tag-wading-birds","tag-wetlands","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/great-blue-heron-heavy-fog-landing-mia-mcpherson-5842.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-gvS","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":63696,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/02\/03\/photographing-a-great-blue-heron-flying-in-dense-fog\/","url_meta":{"origin":63480,"position":0},"title":"Photographing A Great Blue Heron Flying In Dense Fog","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 3, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"These Great Blue Heron images also help me to \"see\" what this species would have looked like as they lived their lives in primordial swamps, estuaries and marshes hundreds of thousands of years ago.","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 on the wing in heavy fog, 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-flight-in-dense-fog-mia-mcpherson-5837.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-flight-in-dense-fog-mia-mcpherson-5837.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/great-blue-heron-flight-in-dense-fog-mia-mcpherson-5837.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/great-blue-heron-flight-in-dense-fog-mia-mcpherson-5837.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":109201,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/01\/01\/hello-2023\/","url_meta":{"origin":63480,"position":1},"title":"Hello 2023!","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 1, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Hello 2023! I hope that 2023 will be wonderful for each and everyone of us. Right now it isn't clear what 2023 will bring.","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 dense fog, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/great-blue-heron-thick-fog-mia-mcpherson-5748.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/great-blue-heron-thick-fog-mia-mcpherson-5748.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/great-blue-heron-thick-fog-mia-mcpherson-5748.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/great-blue-heron-thick-fog-mia-mcpherson-5748.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":63480,"position":2},"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":120113,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/01\/25\/ring-billed-gull-flying-in-heavy-fog\/","url_meta":{"origin":63480,"position":3},"title":"Ring-billed Gull Flying In Heavy Fog","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 25, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Once upon a time, in a marsh not so far away, I photographed a Ring-billed Gull flying in heavy fog. It was the densest fog I have ever photographed in.","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 Ring-billed Gull flying in heavy fog, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/ring-billed-gull-heavy-fog-flight-mia-mcpherson-5941.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/ring-billed-gull-heavy-fog-flight-mia-mcpherson-5941.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/ring-billed-gull-heavy-fog-flight-mia-mcpherson-5941.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/ring-billed-gull-heavy-fog-flight-mia-mcpherson-5941.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":98387,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/12\/22\/great-blue-heron-photos-taken-on-the-winter-solstice\/","url_meta":{"origin":63480,"position":4},"title":"Great Blue Heron Photos Taken on The Winter Solstice","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 22, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"To my delight I was able to take Great Blue Heron photos yesterday on the Winter Solstice that I found on the banks of the Bear River at 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":"Winter Great Blue Heron landing on a log, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/great-blue-heron-bear-river-landing-mia-mcpherson-0605.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/great-blue-heron-bear-river-landing-mia-mcpherson-0605.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/great-blue-heron-bear-river-landing-mia-mcpherson-0605.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/great-blue-heron-bear-river-landing-mia-mcpherson-0605.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":120400,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/02\/03\/great-blue-heron-and-reflection-on-the-bear-river\/","url_meta":{"origin":63480,"position":5},"title":"Great Blue Heron And Reflection On The Bear River","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 3, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Today, I'm sharing a simple Great Blue Heron photo I took late last month at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. I liked the heron's reflection on the Bear River.","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":", 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-river-near-rocks-brmbr-mia-mcpherson-4634.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-river-near-rocks-brmbr-mia-mcpherson-4634.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/great-blue-heron-river-near-rocks-brmbr-mia-mcpherson-4634.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/great-blue-heron-river-near-rocks-brmbr-mia-mcpherson-4634.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\/63480","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=63480"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63480\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}