{"id":71724,"date":"2020-07-09T05:28:09","date_gmt":"2020-07-09T11:28:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=71724"},"modified":"2025-03-20T05:06:55","modified_gmt":"2025-03-20T10:06:55","slug":"great-blue-heron-standing-in-a-mountain-creek","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/07\/09\/great-blue-heron-standing-in-a-mountain-creek\/","title":{"rendered":"Great Blue Heron Standing In A Mountain Creek"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yesterday morning I had a great time photographing birds in the Wasatch Mountains<\/span><\/a> and took some interesting photos of a male Belted Kingfisher being dive bombed by a Barn Swallow but today I wanted to share this photo of a heron in a mountain creek.<\/p>\n

\"GreatGreat Blue Heron standing on a rock in a mountain creek \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2000, ISO 500, -1.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I love seeing Great Blue Herons at high elevations. This riparian habitat is so very different from where I first started photographing them in Florida on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico and in wetlands, marshes, inland lakes, and along the Tampa Bay.<\/p>\n

When I found this Great Blue Heron standing on a rock surrounded by the fast moving waters of a mountain creek I knew I wanted photos of it. I loved the setting with the dark rushing water, the stately pose of the heron, and the lovely light. This image is full frame and simply resized for web presentation.<\/p>\n

But I missed what could have been some great action photos of this heron after it left the rock and waded out into the creek to hunt for food. Within a second after starting to move forward on the road I watched as the heron stabbed its bill into the water and come up with a small fish while the water splashed around the Great Blue.<\/p>\n

As a bird photographer sometimes it is the shots I have missed, for whatever reason, that stand out ever so sharply in my mind.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good. Stay safe.<\/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":"

When I found this Great Blue Heron standing on a rock surrounded by the fast moving waters of a mountain creek I knew I wanted photos of it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":141844,"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":[27,166,1731,26,773],"tags":[4004,4117,3940,3843,3987,627,626,4069,4921,953,7217,313,3996,902],"class_list":["post-71724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-great-blue-herons","category-summit-county-utah","category-utah","category-wasatch-mountains","tag-adult","tag-ardea-herodias","tag-canyon","tag-creek","tag-great-blue-heron","tag-heron","tag-herons","tag-mountains","tag-rock","tag-standing","tag-stream","tag-wading-birds","tag-water","tag-willows"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/great-blue-heron-mountain-creek-mia-mcpherson-7775.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-iEQ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":72255,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/07\/27\/resting-great-blue-herons-in-the-wasatch-mountains\/","url_meta":{"origin":71724,"position":0},"title":"Resting Great Blue Herons In The Wasatch Mountains","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 27, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm actually more than a touch fascinated by the Great Blue Herons I see, observe and photograph in the higher altitudes of the Wasatch Mountains.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Great Blue Heron resting in the mountains, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/great-blue-heron-wasatch-mountains-mia-mcpherson-6319.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/great-blue-heron-wasatch-mountains-mia-mcpherson-6319.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/great-blue-heron-wasatch-mountains-mia-mcpherson-6319.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/great-blue-heron-wasatch-mountains-mia-mcpherson-6319.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":89758,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/06\/02\/great-blue-heron-and-mountain-goldenbanner\/","url_meta":{"origin":71724,"position":1},"title":"Great Blue Heron and Mountain Goldenbanner","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 2, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday I wrote about a Golden Eagle in the Wasatch Mountains. Today I am writing about \"golden\" again. Blooming Mountain Goldenbanner and a Great Blue Heron.\u00a0","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mountain Goldenbanner in bloom close up, Wasatch Mountains, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/mountain-goldenbanner-in-bloom-mia-mcpherson-2701.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/mountain-goldenbanner-in-bloom-mia-mcpherson-2701.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/mountain-goldenbanner-in-bloom-mia-mcpherson-2701.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/mountain-goldenbanner-in-bloom-mia-mcpherson-2701.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":52813,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/06\/28\/are-great-blue-herons-breeding-at-higher-elevations-due-to-climate-change\/","url_meta":{"origin":71724,"position":2},"title":"Are Great Blue Herons Breeding at Higher Elevations Due to Climate Change?","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 28, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm wondering now if Great Blue Herons here in Utah might already be adapting to climate change by moving higher up into the mountain valleys and canyons that have suitable food and water supplies to breed and nest.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"High elevation Great Blue Heron, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/great-blue-heron-conifer-mia-mcpherson-0154.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/great-blue-heron-conifer-mia-mcpherson-0154.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/great-blue-heron-conifer-mia-mcpherson-0154.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/great-blue-heron-conifer-mia-mcpherson-0154.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":120230,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/01\/29\/great-blue-herons-at-the-farmington-bay-wma-rookery\/","url_meta":{"origin":71724,"position":3},"title":"Great Blue Herons At The Farmington Bay WMA Rookery","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 29, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday morning, I was surprised to find Great Blue Herons already at the nests of the rookery at Farmington Bay WMA. There were more than twenty herons.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Great Blue Herons on the rookery at Farmington Bay WMA in January, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/great-blue-herons-rookery-utah-mia-mcpherson-3862.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/great-blue-herons-rookery-utah-mia-mcpherson-3862.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/great-blue-herons-rookery-utah-mia-mcpherson-3862.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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