GREAT BLUE HERON - South Delta - a photo on Flickriver

            South Delta, BC Canada

The great blue heron (Ardea herodias) is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North America and Central America, as well as the Caribbean and the Galápagos Islands. 

It is the largest North American heron and, among all extant herons, it is surpassed only by the goliath heron (Ardea goliath) and the white-bellied heron (Ardea insignis). It has head-to-tail length of 36–54 in) a wingspan of 66–79 in, a height of 45–54 in, and a weight of 4.0–7.9 lb.

In British Columbia, adult males averaged 5.5 lb and adult females 4.7 lb In Nova Scotia and New England, adult herons of both sexes averaged 4.9 lb, while in Oregon, both sexes averaged 4.6 lb. Thus, great blue herons are roughly twice as heavy as great egrets, although only slightly taller than them, but they can weigh about half as much as a large goliath heron. 

Notable features of great blue herons include slaty (gray with a slight azure blue) flight feathers, red-brown thighs, and a paired red-brown and black stripe up the flanks; the neck is rusty-gray, with black and white streaking down the front; the head is paler, with a nearly white face, and a pair of black or slate plumes runs from just above the eye to the back of the head. The feathers on the lower neck are long and plume-like; it also has plumes on the lower back at the start of the breeding season. 

The bill is dull yellowish, becoming orange briefly at the start of the breeding season, and the lower legs are gray, also becoming orangey at the start of the breeding season. Immature birds are duller in color, with a dull blackish-gray crown, and the flank pattern is only weakly defined; they have no plumes, and the bill is dull gray-yellow. Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 16.9–19.4 in tail is 6.0–7.7 in, the culmen is 4.8–6.0 in, and the tarsus is 6.2–8.3 in.

The heron's stride is around 8.7 in, almost in a straight line. Two of the three front toes are generally closer together. In a track, the front toes, as well as the back, often show the small talons. Wikipedia

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Taken on: February 16, 2024

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South Delta

Delta

Estuary

Fraser River Estuary

British Columbia

Canada

Great Blue Heron

Ardeidae

Birds

Bird

Nature

North American Heron

Azure Blue

Greyish

Season

Winter

Colourful

Plumes

Sonja Peterson Photography

Peterson Photography

Nikon

Nikon Z 7II

Mirrorless Photography

Mirrorless

Mirrorless Camera

Feathers

Beak

Breeding Season

Beautiful Birds

Nikon Z 7_2 VR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G « less

Sets appears in: • North Delta, South Delta, Tsawwassen, Boundary Bay, Ladner, Westham Island (2021-2024) • Seagulls, Ducks, Geese, Birds (Waterfowl) & Sea Life 🐚 (2016-2023)

Camera: Nikon Z 7_2, f/13.0, 1/100 sec, 310mm, ISO 125 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon Z 7_2
Lens:	VR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G
Aperture:	f/13.0
Exposure Time:	0.01 sec (1/100)
Focal Length:	310mm
ISO:	125
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic 13.1 (Windows)
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