A worldwide community photographing and learning about wildlife
Ardea herodias
The Great Blue Heron is a large wading bird usually found by lake shores or open water. These two appear to be courting each other. (Another near by male was trying his best to get noticed, with no luck!)
A large cottonwood tree at the edge of a small pond on a golf course.
23 Comments
Thanks Leuba! This rookery is still there. Sadly, no herons came last year. It was very strange. I'm hoping they return this spring! This will always be a very special spotting for me.
Worth another look ! Lovely spotting Emily. I like pic 2 with the light through the bill - a touch of orange. I always wonder how they manage with their untidy sick nests.
Thank you wijnandr93! It was a very exciting spotting! I've never seen anything like it!
This is so cool :)
Grazie! ;)
Mama Mia. :)
Thank you again for the kind words Birdlady! I got so very lucky with these guys. I visited them almost every day for about 3 weeks and only on this one occasion did I see them displaying like this!
Awesome! Great photos!!
Photo #2 is incredible!
Thank you Krista!
Awesome series Emily. They are beautiful pictures.
thanks misako.hill
lovely!
Those entwined necks in #2 are gorgeous; I've never seen GBH doing mating displays so thanks so much for this wonderful series.
Also please consider putting this spotting in the Animal Architecture mission at http://www.projectnoah.org/missions/8082...
Thank you Karen and thank you everyone!
Absolutely stunning shots Emily! Well done!
That's awesome.
Thanks everyone!
And thank you Christy, these guys are are at the corner of 108th and Westmoor. Just west of Wadsworth up by me! They are not very fearful either. I was able to get comfortably close (for all involved) One of the males even did a fly by. He flew within a couple feet of me, realized I wasn't a threat and continued his mating display!
Marvellous
All three are fantastic pictures,
Emily, these are stunning!! Easily frame-able! Where were these? I absolutely love the one with the entwined necks! I love spring!!! (you should read my story on the robin I just posted! Aaaaahhhh...spring!)
lovely series!
Wonderful!