Great-blue Heron

Description:

The Great Blue Heron is a large wading bird in the heron family.The Great Blue Heron is the largest North American heron and, is only surpassed by the Goliath Heron and the White-bellied Heron in size. It has head-to-tail length of 97–137 cm (38–54 in), a wingspan of 167-201 cm (66-79 in) a height of 115–138 cm (45–54 in) and a weight of 2.1–3.3 kg (4.6–7.3 lb)

Habitat:

Common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North and Central America.

Notes:

Photos taken from my kayak.