I was taking the long way home from work again, actually the first time in a long time, when I was given an opportunity I’d wanted for two years: to get close to a Great Blue Heron. I’ve tried in times past, but these are very skittish birds. One can’t normally get within a football field of them without the darn things taking flight.

These are also territorial birds, so there are a few places I try to frequent in my quest for one of the big blue (purplish, actually) birds. It was between two such places that I spotted this lovely specimen. I actually spotted its mate, parked the truck, angled for a shot, then watched it take off and soar about a quarter mile away before landing. I was about to storm back to the truck and depart when I caught this one out of the corner of my eye!

I took a meandering path down toward the water, trying not to look over at the bird. It kept one eye trained on my as birds do when they’re really trying to focus on something, and continued to do so as I sat down on the bank about 40-50 feet away. I simply sat motionless and occasionally snapped a photo as the heron paced back in forth in the water, actually working its way closer to me. Then, after ten minutes or so, it finally took off to rejoin its friend. I was so excited!

I can now cross this off my list of subjects that I want to get photographed yet somehow never succeed. That is becoming a very short list! It’s amazing how much there is to see (and photograph) right here in Bismarck-Mandan. Communicating that fact is why I started this blog in the first place, and it becomes more real to me all the time.