A Little Blue Heron waded back and forth in a small, shallow pond, methodically hunting.
Occasionally he stabbed the water, without success as I watched.
Little Blues are all white when they hatch and around a year old start to transition to the full blue of adulthood.
From the other side of the pond I had a back-lit view of the Heron as he continued to hunt.
I was standing at the edge of a small pond when this Little Blue Heron landed in a tree above me. Surprisingly he stayed put even though several other folks walked underneath him, most without even noticing him.
With breeding season over the wading birds tend to ignore each other but this one had his eye on something, and was chatting about it.
Hmm, a big stare. I could hear an Anhinga also doing a bit of bird chat, too. I never expected it would be up even higher than the Little Blue, where he continued to stare.
When I moved on I finally spotted the Anghinga in the highest available spot looking out over a pond behind where the Little Blue Heron stood.
Just as I was leaving the pond one day last week a Little Blue Heron flew into the corner.
Of course I stopped to take his picture as he glided in.
He effortlessly dropped down into the tall grass so I didn’t get the full landing.
A juvenile Little Blue Heron learning to fly landed in a pine tree right above me when he veered away from the pond. I didn’t see the landing but it didn’t sound graceful as he flapped around.
He wasn’t sure what to do next and the adult that had been leading him down the pond had kept on going.
After a minute he figured out he’d been left behind and went off in the same direction as his parent and a sibling.
We don’t have as good a view of the Little Blue Herons learning to fly this summer because of the position of the nests but the glimpses we get are entertaining.
Little Blue Herons will perch on logs or rocks to search for food rather than wade if something solid is available. With the water completely covered in duck weed it’s hard to say how deep it is.
This pond has had a lot of water level changes, up and down, this spring which has freed a number of fallen tree branches that had been hung up on the edges. This Little Blue Heron took full advantage of a log as a hunting spot.
I couldn’t make out what he was plucking out of the water but it seemed to satisfy him.
It’s nice to have a breeze around the pond but sometimes it blows low hanging branches into your shot. I still liked the pose and colors of this Little Blue Heron.
I was able to move a few steps for a different angle, however the bird was on the move.
He paused for a quick look around.
See ya later!
The sun was rising on a juvenile Glossy Ibis, Wood Stork and Little Blue Heron standing in a shallow pond.
The Ibis got the signal to go!
I love these reflections, especially the upside down Ibis.
A Little Blue Heron plodded in the shallow water of a pond right in front of me.
He was very deliberate in his steps.
His forward motion hardly made the water ripple.
2/25/2019 Bear Island Wildlife Management Area, SC
Searching for dinner
A Little Blue Heron sends
A ripple signal
These images were taken in a section of the wildlife management area that I don’t visit often. Until recently you had to climb over fallen trees to get there and the dike is lower, which puts the photographer closer to the water which is good and bad.
Getting a lower prospective and Alligator reflection is good. Being closer to unseen Alligators can scare the &#!% out of a photographer if they move!
Being lower also means less breeze, which much of the year means more mosquitoes. Last week was cooler so there wasn’t much insect activity.
This White Ibis was enjoying the sun and along came a Little Blue Heron.
The Little Blue Heron slowly encroached on the Ibis’ space.
