Great Blue Heron – Old Stoneface

Too much “cooperative” can be the same as uncooperative.

 

Four days ago at Bear River MBR I found this Great Blue Heron backed up against the phrags on the far side of one of the canals. This first time I stopped for ‘him’ he was side lit and I was too close to get photos that included his reflection so I decided to try to drive past him so I could get better light on the bird and be far enough away to include his reflection in my photos. He hadn’t moved a feather for the more than five minutes I was so close to him so I had hopes he wouldn’t flush as I drove past him even closer.

Because of the high contrast side light, I’m not particularly fond of this photo. I’m only including it to help me tell the story.

 

 

He didn’t budge as I drove past him and I sure like the light on the bird better from this angle. But I ended up not liking his reflection from my new position, so I cropped to exclude it.

Usually, when it’s appropriate, I prefer vertical crops for the better detail it provides on the bird. But for this heron…

 

 

I slightly prefer a horizontal composition because it includes more of the setting, which I like. To me this setting looks swampy, almost primordial, which seem appropriate for a primitive-looking bird like a Great Blue Heron.

 

I ended up spending almost 15 minutes with this bird and I never saw him move, even twitch, in that time. He’d obviously turned his head slightly in order to follow me as I drove past him, but I didn’t see that because I was driving. In the end I got tired of waiting for him to do something interesting so I eventually gave up and drove on down the road.

The next morning I went back to Bear River and found him in almost the same place but he was partially hidden by vegetation so I didn’t take any photos. I waited and waited for him to start fishing or take off or do something interesting but he never moved.

That’s when I started calling him “Old Stoneface”.

As I mentioned in a previous post, April Olson was also at the refuge that day. The following day she posted a photo of what was almost certainly the same heron on Facebook, saying this about him.

“This Great Blue Heron was another bird willing to pose yesterday. Maybe a little too willing. He never moved the 20 minutes I watched the bird hoping he would do something more entertaining.”

“Old Stoneface” to the end.

Ron

 

Note: I’m not including my image techs because they were inappropriate for the situation.

 

27 Comments

  1. Always thrilled to see a GBH! The swampy environs make the perfect backdrop for this modern dinosaur! He’d definitely win any staring contest.

  2. You captured a very beautiful face.

    Take Care,
    Kaye

  3. That heron is showing the patience of a true fisherman! Wish I could do the same…

  4. Grinning. Hopefully he won’t pass the message on about his successful attempts to frustrate photographers.

  5. Arwen Professional Joy Seeker

    My favorite bird. They are beautiful. Had one come out of a heavily fogged bank. I was in a canoe taking an early morning paddle. It went right over the now of my canoe. Like a large grey ghost…

  6. Lol, yep!

  7. Old Stoneface, staredown champ.

  8. Amazing that he didn’t move for either one of you, and that he was there the next day, too! I like the horizontal better – that is a pretty mucky soup he’s standing in. He needs some waders!

  9. They tend not to move unless you don’t want them too! 😉 Beautiful and I like the horizontal better for the context. Glad April got a shot at him also!

  10. Since I follow both April and you I am truly enjoying the saga of Old Stoneface. I can’t stop giggling. This GBH has thwarted 2 of my favorite nature photographers with his stoicism! Love the photos and the story!!

  11. Interesting series Ron. Makes you wonder what he is thinking and does he have a plan or maybe just taking the day off? Maybe he caught a big Catfish earlier and is just relaxing while digesting. I have always enjoyed watching their total concentration when they are watching a fish and are ready to strike.

  12. We see these when we go to the lake. They are incredible. That call of theirs is impossible to ignore. These are some great pictures.

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