Great blue herons are magnificent prehistoric looking birds. They are very shy around humans and difficult to photograph. The one place I have had luck getting images of them is a heron sanctuary near the Canadian border in northern Washington. I often see them when I kayak but they take off before I can usually get close enough to get a good shot. Not the smartest birds, they always seem to fly the exact direction I am kayaking so I run into the same bird over and over. I once camped under a tree with a heron nest and learned what they sound like the hard way. In the middle of the night when I went to pee I thought I was going to be attacked by a Pterodactyl! They fish near the shoreline, especially at low tides where they will walk in shallow waters and look for small fish or crabs. You will see them inland sometimes too as they do love eating frogs out of ponds. A friend of mine has a Koi pond & has lost many high price fish to herons. They were very endangered with the population explosion in this area but after some protections they have made an amazing comeback.
Do you have any cool shorebirds near you? Any other good bird droppings to share? Have a great Sunday, get outside and enjoy some birds.
You’re quite the photographer, Shaq. I’ve done a lot of canoeing and kayaking and seen my share of herons.
…well…I’ve seen kingfishers a time or two…they’re pretty cool…but I don’t know about shore-as-in-sea…it’s been a while for me…but if I remember rightly there’s a sea eagle in a zoo I went to in seattle a while back…I imagine one of those in the wild would be a sight to see?
…those herons look great, though…thanks for these posts
The summer of last year I saw a Water Ouzel in a stream in Montana. They never go more than six feet or so from the bank of the stream where they are born, and spend all of their time diving and swimming in their stream for food.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_dipper
I don’t think I have ever seen one of those.
Ouzels/dippers are a lot of fun to watch. They need running water, so rivers, creeks, streams, etc.
This is one that was fishing in the stream behind my house.
The fish got away when the heron tried to flip it to go down its throat.
Great shot!
Thanks, my daughter spotted it first. She was out in the park behind my house and saw it eat about six or seven before she came and told the rest of us about it. Fortunately it was close to the stream bank and really didn’t GAF about people watching it while it fed, so it was easy to take pix.
I’m jealous that you can kayak so much. I’m at least an hour from anywhere we can rent one, but it’s always such a great way to spend an afternoon.
I’ve had ocean kayaks for about 20 years & paddleboards for a few years. I’m about a mile from Puget Sound so easy to get out on the water.
When I first read this, I thought it said “heroin sanctuary.”
There’s a blue heron that lives on our lake during the warm months. Sometimes he lands on our side and we get a good look at him, but mostly he lives near the island.
I’m always impressed with species that are so well-adapted that they can live damn near anywhere.
Gulf Coast of Florida? Great Blue Herons. Pacific Northwest? Great Blue Herons.
Missouri River delta (entire fresh water)? Great Blue Herons!!!!!
Seriously impressive.
Also, great pictures!!!
We have them here in Boise, too. Awesome birds.