Great Blue Herons

Where I live I don't see these beauties very often. Occasionally I will catch a glimpse of one near a river, as they fly away.... they always see me first :) They are huge, yet fly so gracefully.

I was so surprised to find these huge birds nesting in a couple trees at the edge of a little stream that wound it's way through the college campus where I was attending a seminar.

I was so interested in getting shots of them that I returned to the area 2 more times for additional shots. The second time I went to a protected area and there were thousands of birds but you couldn't get close enough to get good shots. On our third trip a nice lady who worked at the college directed us to an area where we could get closer to them.

This is a view of the tree top from a distance.

They were still building their nests. Sometimes both birds would be on the nest, sometimes one would leave and return with a big twig and give it to the other bird.

The birds congregated on these islands. Locals told us the birds knew which areas were protected and which ones were not. I don't think these were Great Blues, but a different variety of heron.

The colors on this lake shoreline were awesome just after sundown.

This is my friend Wanda. She and I travel together for photo outings. I is so nice to have someone that loves to take pictures as much as I do. We go a lot of places together that I probably wouldn't go to alone.

It was wonderful to be able to get so close to these herons and what a thrill to capture them with my camera!