Little Blue Heron

Earlier this month I spotted this little blue heron gliding across the salt marsh. The late afternoon sun gave a nice warm glow to the reeds in the background.

52 thoughts on “Little Blue Heron”

Divya on October 23, 2013 at 1:01 pm said:

Beautiful pics ! It’s my first time seeing a blue heron. I mostly see grey ones near my area.

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on October 23, 2013 at 1:51 pm said:
  
  Thanks very much I’m so glad you enjoyed these photos.
  This is a Little Blue Heron which is different then our Great Blue Heron.
  See more photos of the LBH here:
  https://phillanoue.com/little-blue-heron-photos/
  
  See photos of the GBH here:
  https://phillanoue.com/great-blue-heron-photos/
  
  And here: https://phillanoue.com/category/great-blue-heron/
  
  🙂
  
  Reply ↓
Lyle Krahn on October 23, 2013 at 1:29 pm said:

That’s a wonderful contrast for a beautiful bird!

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on October 23, 2013 at 1:53 pm said:
  
  Thanks Lyle, I was happy to catch this one flying low across the marsh. The LBHs I mostly see are very high flyers and I’m not as much a fan of open sky flight photos.
  
  Reply ↓
Cowboys and Crossbones on October 23, 2013 at 1:32 pm said:

GORGEOUS shots and beautiful blue heron (and the text, of course!).

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on October 23, 2013 at 1:53 pm said:
  
  It is a pretty bird and you know I had to snap this up with the blue text! Glad you like it.
  
  Reply ↓
Gunta on October 23, 2013 at 1:35 pm said:

What a little beauty. I’ve never seen one before either. You lucky devil, you!

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on October 23, 2013 at 1:54 pm said:
  
  I was happy to see this pretty bird in a nice setting for once. I so often see them higher up and the flight shots don’t look that great when they are way overhead.
  
  Reply ↓
Judy on October 23, 2013 at 1:41 pm said:

Luckily we do see Little blue herons in our area too! I can remember when I first started photographing them I initially did confuse them with the Reddish Egret. Depending on where they are with the mating plumage, they can look quite similar. The first big thing for me was that the Reddish has a black tip to the bill and pinkish near the face while the Little Blue as you have here has a black tip and bluish towards the face.

I always love your flying shots and these are wonderful!! Do you have Reddish Egrets there too? The are probably one of the least common ones around here.

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on October 23, 2013 at 1:58 pm said:
  
  Yes indeed Judy the reddish and LB do look quite similar at times depending on age and whether in breeding season or not. One of my all time favorite birds is the LBH ‘tweener’ phase when they are progressing from all white juvenile to blue adult. They have a cool blue and white almost checkerboard look at this time.
  See some tweener and juvie LBH photos here:
  https://phillanoue.com/little-blue-heron-photos/
  
  And I do see a reddish on a rare occasion. See a few photos of them here:
  https://phillanoue.com/reddish-egret-photos/
  
  Thanks 😀
  
  Reply ↓
acuriousgal on October 23, 2013 at 2:17 pm said:

Bravo, Phil!!! What a beauty!

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on October 23, 2013 at 2:23 pm said:
  
  Hey thanks! So glad you liked these LBH photos!
  
  Reply ↓
Patrizia M. on October 23, 2013 at 3:16 pm said:

Un airone blu??? io nemmeno sapevo che esistesse, è magnifico, veramente bellissimo.
E bellissime sono le foto che hai scattato, bello il contrasto tra il blu dell’airone e la natura che lo circonda!!
Ciao, Pat

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on October 23, 2013 at 4:14 pm said:
  
  Grazie mille Pat e sono felice che ti piace questo uccello blu 😀
  
  Reply ↓
Deb W. Trotter on October 23, 2013 at 3:28 pm said:

You’ve really put the blue in blue heron! Beautiful images, Phil.

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on October 23, 2013 at 4:11 pm said:
  
  It’s funny too because normally these guys have kind of a maroon colored neck and other red on them but this one was really blue.
  Thanks Deb!
  
  Reply ↓
Scott Marshall on October 23, 2013 at 3:42 pm said:

what a gorgeous colour – seen perfectly in image 2

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on October 23, 2013 at 4:11 pm said:
  
  Thanks very much Scott.
  It’s funny too because normally these guys have kind of a maroon colored neck and other red on them but this one was really blue.
  
  Reply ↓
adinparadise on October 23, 2013 at 3:53 pm said:

What a fabulous shade of blue! Great captures, Phil. 🙂

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on October 23, 2013 at 4:12 pm said:
  
  He does look rather snappy in his autumn blue doesn’t he? Thanks a million Sylvia!
  
  Reply ↓
Amy on October 23, 2013 at 3:57 pm said:

I’m speechless…

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on October 23, 2013 at 4:12 pm said:
  
  Thanks very much for looking and commenting Amy. 🙂
  
  Reply ↓
Dina on October 23, 2013 at 4:14 pm said:

DIVINE!

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on October 24, 2013 at 11:47 am said:
  
  Thank you so much, glad you liked these LBH photos!
  
  Reply ↓
The Dancing Rider on October 23, 2013 at 4:30 pm said:

Love the blue against the muted background. Makes his details stand out so well. Very complimentary! Also love the little blue heron’s eyes … he looks focused on where he’s going, but relaxed. Just lovely!

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on October 24, 2013 at 11:49 am said:
  
  You hit it exactly right, this bird was a combination of focused yet relaxed. Great way of putting it! He landed nearby and I watched him for a little while just taking it easy in the salt marsh. 🙂
  
  Reply ↓
janmasyn on October 23, 2013 at 4:38 pm said:

Wonderful shots and bird.

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on October 24, 2013 at 11:49 am said:
  
  Thank you Jan, the LBH is a pretty bird.
  
  Reply ↓
Steve Gingold on October 23, 2013 at 4:41 pm said:

I’ve never seen a Little Blue, Phil. Only the Greats and they aren’t as blue as the Littles. I really like these. It looks like he’s got one feather that doesn’t want to lay still.

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on October 24, 2013 at 11:51 am said:
  
  The LBHs I normally see have a bit more maroon around their head and neck but this guy was really blue.
  I’m thinking he might have a little hole in that right wing.
  Thanks for checking these out Steve.
  
  Reply ↓
Andrew on October 23, 2013 at 5:33 pm said:

What a terrific bird, Phil. Lovely flight shots.

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on October 24, 2013 at 11:51 am said:
  
  Thanks very much Andrew, I was happy this nice looking bird decided to fly by my location. Wish they all would. 🙂
  
  Reply ↓
Sefferdog on October 23, 2013 at 5:53 pm said:

Great shot! I love how these guys announce their arrival and departue!

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on October 24, 2013 at 11:53 am said:
  
  Thanks a million, glad you liked these LBH shots! I think the GBH is a bit more vocal then these smaller herons, the GBH seems compelled to announce *everything*. 🙂
  
  Reply ↓
Garden Walk Garden Talk on October 23, 2013 at 7:20 pm said:

Very beautiful. The bird is really blue too.

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on October 24, 2013 at 11:54 am said:
  
  Thanks very much. Yes this guy is really quite blue. Normally I see some maroon and red on the LBs but not this one.
  
  Reply ↓
Tanja on October 23, 2013 at 8:47 pm said:

Simply beautiful!

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on October 24, 2013 at 11:54 am said:
  
  Thank you so much for looking and commenting I appreciate it.
  
  Reply ↓
foxleylady on October 24, 2013 at 5:36 am said:

The whole composition is stunning, Phil! How I love your herons – the colours are so, so beautiful! Congratulations on your flipflop-eating alligator pics published in the Daily Mail, one of the UK’s leading newspapers, so well-deserved!

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on October 24, 2013 at 11:56 am said:
  
  Thank you very much for your kind words about this LBH Maggie, I appreciate it!
  Also very nice of you to mention the alligator photos and story in the DM! We are excited about that here for sure.
  
  Reply ↓
bcnerdtm on October 24, 2013 at 4:56 pm said:

So. Awesome.

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on October 27, 2013 at 6:17 pm said:
  
  Hey thanks a bunch I appreciate it!
  
  Reply ↓
photographybycalliec on October 24, 2013 at 5:50 pm said:

Stunning!!!

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on October 27, 2013 at 6:17 pm said:
  
  Thank you so much Callie!
  
  Reply ↓
Chillbrook on October 25, 2013 at 4:21 am said:

He really is blue isn’t he! Beautiful Phil.

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on October 27, 2013 at 6:19 pm said:
  
  He is actually even more blue then I usually see Adrian. They will normally have some maroon coloring around their head and neck but not so much this guy. 🙂
  Thanks much for looking!
  
  Reply ↓
Round River Reflections on October 25, 2013 at 7:40 am said:

Incredible shots!

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on October 27, 2013 at 6:19 pm said:
  
  Thanks a million, appreciate that!
  
  Reply ↓
Fergiemoto on October 25, 2013 at 11:47 pm said:

Beautiful shots! I like how you match the colors of your text with the colors of the birds.

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on October 27, 2013 at 6:19 pm said:
  
  Thank you very much and glad to know you enjoy the text color changes as well. 🙂
  
  Reply ↓
David on October 27, 2013 at 2:36 pm said:

Beautiful shots of the blue heron’s flight.

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on October 27, 2013 at 6:20 pm said:
  
  Thanks David, I was quite happy he choose to fly by nice and close. 🙂
  
  Reply ↓