Yesterday I stumbled on this Great Blue Heron and spent an hour watching and photographing him stalking prey for lunch.
Great Blue Herons are common here in south Florida. The birds can reach more than four feet in height, and I’d say this one was over three feet when his neck was fully extended.
While foraging for food in the water, he was silent and stealthy — waiting for the exact moment to pounce with his beak and scoop up what looked like shrimp and salamanders. A couple of these photographs show prey in his mouth.
And what about those Halloween-scary, large, black feet that sometimes came out of the water??! Every part of the bird’s body seemed perfectly made for what he was doing — and if I was bothering him nearby with a camera, he surely didn’t show it!
Follow The Daily Artisan on Facebook and Instagram @thedailyartisan, and check out The Daily Artisan online store for note cards of my photographs!
