I had the pleasure of photographing at a small Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) rookery this spring. The place was fantastic. The birds are habituated to people, so stressing them was not a concern. They frequently flew from the ground to the trees where they roosted, presenting plenty of good flight opportunities. And best of all, there was a bridge nearby, permitting me to photograph the birds from eye level as they flew by, rather than shooting straight up.
I am not a fan of “blue sky” flight images. Usually, context and visual appeal from the background are important to a successful image. So, I was glad to capture at least one good image of a heron flying in front of the Flatirons (a ridge of mountains near Boulder, Colorado.) Be sure to click on the image for a larger view.
As you can see, the birds were not choosy about the size of their nest-building sticks. This one even settled for a long milkweed pod.
Thanks very much to Kurt Bowman for sharing the location of the rookery. Also thanks to my dad, who dutifully scouted the place on his lunch breaks.
