Great Blue Heron Photos

Photography by Terry Sohl

My Favorite: A species you can find across much of the United States, they're a common sight in South Dakota in the summer months. I have a number of photos from South Dakota and elsewhere, but the one below is my favorite. It's from the oxbow waters of the Outdoor Campus in Sioux Falls, a wonderful little oasis in the middle of Sioux Falls where you can often find a surprisingly diverse array of birds. Here a lone bird is stalking the shallow water habitats in search of a meal, in some really nice late afternoon sun.

Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias


Great Blue Heron 1	Great Blue Heron 2	Great Blue Heron 3	Great Blue Heron 4
May 2nd, 2003	November 6th, 2005	November 6th, 2005	April 25th, 2004
Minnehaha County, South Dakota	Lake Thompson, South Dakota	Madison Waterfowl Production Area, South Dakota	Near Oldham, South Dakota
Heron wading at the edge of a cattail marsh in shallow water	Profile of bird flying lower over the water's surface	Heron in shallow water on a very bright afternoon	Bird taking flight, rear view with wings spread

Great Blue Heron 5	Great Blue Heron 6	Great Blue Heron 7	Great Blue Heron 8
April 25th, 2004	October 23rd, 2006	September 14th, 2007	December 18th, 2008
Near Oldham, South Dakota	Desoto National Wildlife Refuge, Nebraska	Gavin's Point Dam, Nebraska / South Dakota	San Francisco, California
Vertical of heron posed on rocky shoreline of a lake	Bird resting on the edge of a shallow wetland	Heron in flight over water	Bird wading in shallow man-made pond (Sutro Baths of San Francisco)

Great Blue Heron 9	Great Blue Heron 10	Great Blue Heron 11	Great Blue Heron 12
December 18th, 2008	February 13th, 2008	February 13th, 2008	October 1st, 2010
San Francisco, California	Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge, Alabama	Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge, Alabama	Outdoor Campus in Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Closeup portrait of heron's head in profile	Heron in flight over Gulf of Mexico waters	Heron in flight over breaking waves of Gulf of Mexico	Vertical of bird standing in shallow wetland habitat

Great Blue Heron 13	Great Blue Heron 14	Great Blue Heron 15	Great Blue Heron 16
December 10th, 2012	December 10th, 2012	December 10th, 2012	December 10th, 2012
Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida	Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida	Everglades National Park, Florida	Everglades National Park, Florida
Heron standing in tropical habitat of Big Cypress	Closeup of head and upper body with freshly caught fish (tilapia?)	Bird prowling the shallow shorelines of Everglades National Park	Heron in flight over wetland habitat in wonderful evening light

Great Blue Heron 17	Great Blue Heron 18	Great Blue Heron 19	Great Blue Heron 20
December 10th, 2012	August 17th, 2013	August 3rd, 2014	August 3rd, 2014
Everglades National Park, Florida	Lake County, South Dakota	Lake Vermilion, South Dakota	Lake Vermilion, South Dakota
Heron in flight over wetland habitat in wonderful evening light	Heron in flight in cattail marsh habitat	Heron taking flight with freshly caught bullhead	Heron in flight over lake's waters

Great Blue Heron 21	Great Blue Heron 22	Great Blue Heron 23	Great Blue Heron 24
August 3rd, 2014	August 3rd, 2014	August 3rd, 2014	May 8th, 2020
Lake Vermilion, South Dakota	Lake Vermilion, South Dakota	Lake Vermilion, South Dakota	Outdoor Campus, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Heron in flight with bullhead breakfast in its bill	Heron in flight with bullhead breakfast in its bill	Heron in flight with exurban lakeshore home in background	Partially hidden bird in grassy wetland habitat

Great Blue Heron 25	Great Blue Heron 26	Great Blue Heron 27	Great Blue Heron 28
July 11th, 2020	July 11th, 2020	May 2nd, 2003	May 4th, 2019
Lake Vermilion, South Dakota	Lake Vermilion, South Dakota	Western Minnehaha County, South Dakota	Outdoor Campus, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Lone heron standing in shallow waters of a large reservoir	Grassy shoreline habitat and bird standing in shallow water	Heron walking through cattail marsh	Bird hunting in shallow marshy habitat