Great Blue Heron (Ardea Herodias)

The Great Blue Heron (henceforth referred to as just GBH out of pure laziness), is by far one of the most  frequently seen birds in my area, besides the starlings, the pesky blackbirds and the sparrows, of course! 

I would almost tend to believe that each year they come back to the same spot!  No, really!  I have seen herons at certain spots, year after year and therefore, my strong belief that they return to the same place.  I would ask them if this were really the case, if only I could get close enough.  Although, the images here might give you the idea that I was indeed within earshot of these herons, I have to tell you, they weren't!  I had to crop in extremely tight.  

I also noted, that I'm yet to see a group or even a couple of herons together.  They must have their mates close by, but I've never seen more than one at any given time.  

The GBH is the largest heron found in North America, and can be easily identified by their grayish-blue feathers, a long neck speckled with white, reddish-brown thighs and very distinctive dark coloured plumes.  The dark blue feathers on the shoulder are very prominent as well.  They usually eat fish, but I've seen images showing them eating snakes, toads, turtles and small birds!  I can't imagine they eat small birds!  The eyes look cruel, don't they!  

GBHs live in fresh or saltwater marshes, as well as in areas around lakes and shorelines.  I have also seen them next to a little pond in my neighbourhood, which is in a very, very urban setting.  The last couple of images showing the bird with a fish were taken at that pond as you can clearly tell by the presence of park fencing in the background. 

The next couple of images are part of a large series that I took of this bird catching fish, bringing it ashore, killing it by repeated pecking and checking, and then taking it back to the water to wash off the blood and soil, before devouring it.  

This was my first time seeing a GBH up close, and I had spent at least an hour watching it, before it finally did something interesting.  I remember having stayed around for at least another couple of hours afterwards, hoping it would take off for the evening, and I would be able to photograph it in flight.  However, that didn't happen, and it happily just decided to snooze a few feet from there (the last image in this series).