Bird Photography, Birds

Why Two Great Blue Herons Were Looking at Each Other

Nestlings are on the way!

John Dean
Dean’s List
Published in
2 min readNov 11, 2024

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Great Blue Heron Lovebirds © John Dean.

After seeing a Great Blue Heron perched in the same tree, day after day, I wondered what might be special about the tree. What might be going on?

I welcomed the bird evenings when I bicycled to the pond where the tree stands to take pictures. A reliable, free model is a photographer’s dream. The bird made me happy, but I still wondered why it kept coming to the same tree day after day.

Last weekend, I got my answer. The sun was setting as I arrived at the tree, but there were two Great Blues, not one. And the light was favorable. I started shooting photographs.

After five minutes, one of the Great Blues flew away. I tried to capture his image, but he was too fast. And my shutter setting needed to be faster.

Great Blue Heron, now departing © John Dean.

Grateful for the photographs I had, I packed up my gear and prepared to ride home. But then the second Great Blue Heron returned. In its mouth was a twig.

I had my answer, I thought. The two Great Blue Herons were lovebirds building a nest.

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Dean’s List
Dean’s List

Published in Dean’s List

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John Dean
John Dean

Written by John Dean

Writing on politics, photography, nature, the environment, dogs, and, occasionally, humor. Editor of Dean’s List.

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