With the return of spring each year comes my quest for some nice photos of the Great Blue Heron. I happen to know where several of these big birds hang out, and I occasionally try to capture them with my camera. They’re big, blueish-purple, and really quite unique. You know how the old saying goes: how do you catch a unique bird? You ‘neak up on it!

So far I’ve had mixed success with the local herons, such as this photo at sunset beneath the old Memorial Bridge. These birds can see a long ways and freeze when they sense something they don’t particularly like, which was great for me; I wanted to take a long exposure of the river, the bird, the reflection, and the bridge. In this case I actually had a willing and cooperative subject!

I was able to work my way toward these three, standing in an interesting formation, one afternoon near Fox Island. Instead of employing any sort of subtilty, I simply walked out to them very slowly. By that I mean a couple of steps per minute. I got close enough to capture their interesting arrangement before a couple of them took flight. It wasn’t as close as I’d wanted to be, but it was better.

So far this year I’ve been stymied by the Great Blue Heron. Nevertheless, I will be carefully watching the few backwater areas where I know they have staked their territorial claim. Maybe I’ll make good on all those promises to buy a blind and set up to wait for them, although patience has never been one of my most noteworthy qualities. In any case, the game’s afoot. Hopefully I’ll have some decent heron photos to post here soon.