{"id":76421,"date":"2020-12-22T06:23:49","date_gmt":"2020-12-22T13:23:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=76421"},"modified":"2024-09-21T06:25:20","modified_gmt":"2024-09-21T11:25:20","slug":"great-blue-heron-resting-on-a-goose-nest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/12\/22\/great-blue-heron-resting-on-a-goose-nest\/","title":{"rendered":"Great Blue Heron Resting On A Goose Nest"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I found this Great Blue Heron resting on a human made goose nest yesterday morning at Farmington Bay WMA I knew I wanted to photograph it.<\/p>\n

\"GreatGreat Blue Heron resting on a man made goose nest \u2013 Nikon D500, f6.3, 1\/4000, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The Great Blue Heron wasn’t doing anything interesting. This heron was simply resting. The heron wasn’t found in a spectacular setting. It was perched on a human made goose nest in the marsh. This large wading bird isn’t in its breeding plumage which can be lovely and interesting. The heron is in its nonbreeding plumage. This Great Blue Heron simply caught my eye and for me that was enough for me to stop and take its photo.<\/p>\n

I really don’t mind that the Great Blue Heron is perched on a human made nest. I like the marshy setting, the water, ice and vegetation in the background, the resting pose of the heron, and the nice light.<\/p>\n

Great Blue Herons can be found in the lower 48, the southern most part of Alaska, southern Canada, the Caribbean, Mexico and into Central America and they can be common birds in some areas. Being “common” doesn’t mean that I ignore them or to pass on the opportunity to photograph them. I truly appreciate having Great Blue Herons in my viewfinder which may be why I have so many images of them in my galleries<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Over the years I’ve photographed Great Blue Herons on this nest several times as well as few other bird species. I’ve photographed Forester’s Terns, Belted Kingfishers, Northern Harriers, and Canada Geese on this nest too.<\/p>\n

I really don’t need a reason to take photographs of birds. That a photo of a bird wouldn’t be considered “award winning” doesn’t matter a bit to me.<\/p>\n

Why? Because I don’t enter photo contests.<\/p>\n

I do it because I am passionate about our feathered friends and for me that is reason enough.<\/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

Farmington Bay is recognized as a Globally Important Bird Area.<\/span><\/a> – Audubon<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I found this Great Blue Heron resting on a man made goose nest yesterday morning at Farmington Bay WMA I knew I wanted to photograph it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":134838,"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":[27,1022,697,166,26],"tags":[4004,4117,8810,9082,3987,627,626,10770,4064,5152,4094,4075,4156,313,3996,4095,373],"class_list":["post-76421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-farmington-bay-wma","category-great-blue-herons","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-ardea-herodias","tag-common","tag-goose-nest","tag-great-blue-heron","tag-heron","tag-herons","tag-human-made","tag-ice","tag-man-made","tag-marsh","tag-nest","tag-resting","tag-wading-birds","tag-water","tag-wetlands","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/great-blue-heron-on-goose-nest-mia-mcpherson-2118.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-jSB","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":42654,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/10\/15\/great-blue-heron-resting-in-a-canada-goose-nest-at-farmington-bay-wma\/","url_meta":{"origin":76421,"position":0},"title":"Great Blue Heron Resting In A Canada Goose Nest At Farmington Bay WMA","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 15, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Two days ago when I found this Great Blue Heron resting in the goose nest I knew I had to photograph it because of the autumn colors in the background.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Great Blue Heron resting in a Canada Goose nest, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/great-blue-heron-nest-mia-mcpherson-7185.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-nest-mia-mcpherson-7185.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/great-blue-heron-nest-mia-mcpherson-7185.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/great-blue-heron-nest-mia-mcpherson-7185.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":116479,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/09\/29\/fall-great-blue-heron-flasher\/","url_meta":{"origin":76421,"position":1},"title":"Fall Great Blue Heron Flasher","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 29, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Earlier this week, I found this adult Great Blue Heron in a Flasher pose while resting on a human-made nest in a pond at Farmington Bay WMA in northern Utah.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fall Great Blue Heron Flasher pose at Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/great-blue-heron-autumn-flasher-mia-mcpherson-1746.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/great-blue-heron-autumn-flasher-mia-mcpherson-1746.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/great-blue-heron-autumn-flasher-mia-mcpherson-1746.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/great-blue-heron-autumn-flasher-mia-mcpherson-1746.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":115878,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/09\/15\/late-summer-great-blue-heron\/","url_meta":{"origin":76421,"position":2},"title":"Late Summer Great Blue Heron","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 15, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I photographed this late summer, adult Great Blue Heron resting on a human-made nest box at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area a few days ago.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Late summer Great Blue Heron at Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/great-blue-heron-late-summer-mia-mcpherson-0460.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/great-blue-heron-late-summer-mia-mcpherson-0460.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/great-blue-heron-late-summer-mia-mcpherson-0460.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/great-blue-heron-late-summer-mia-mcpherson-0460.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":100076,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/02\/18\/great-blue-herons-at-the-farmington-bay-rookery\/","url_meta":{"origin":76421,"position":3},"title":"Great Blue Herons At The Farmington Bay Rookery","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 18, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The breeding season has begun for the Great Blue Herons at the Farmington Bay rookery and throughout northern Utah.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Great Blue Herons at the Farmington Bay rookery, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/great-blue-herons-rookery-mia-mcpherson-3757.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/great-blue-herons-rookery-mia-mcpherson-3757.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/great-blue-herons-rookery-mia-mcpherson-3757.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/great-blue-herons-rookery-mia-mcpherson-3757.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":76421,"position":4},"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, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/great-blue-herons-rookery-utah-mia-mcpherson-3862.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":100674,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/03\/14\/young-great-blue-heron-in-front-of-the-promontory-mountains\/","url_meta":{"origin":76421,"position":5},"title":"Young Great Blue Heron In Front Of The Promontory Mountains","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 14, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I liked this image of an immature Great Blue Heron flying in front of the snow covered Promontory Mountains even though the heron is 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":"Immature Great Blue Heron flying in front of snow covered mountains, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/great-blue-heron-immature-flight-mountains-mia-mcpherson-1398.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/great-blue-heron-immature-flight-mountains-mia-mcpherson-1398.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/great-blue-heron-immature-flight-mountains-mia-mcpherson-1398.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/great-blue-heron-immature-flight-mountains-mia-mcpherson-1398.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\/76421","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=76421"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76421\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/134838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}