Great Blue Heron

 

Statuesque, this elegant shore bird is a Pacific Northwest fixture. Standing up to four and a half feet tall with a wingspan of six feet, the Great Blue Heron spends the majority of its waking hours hunting for fish or other creatures small enough to safely swallow. Found primarily along the shores of tide pools, marshes, and lagoons, we happened on this handsome fellow perched in a tree on Fir Island, no doubt scoping out his next meal in the surrounding tidal marshes.

 

Skagit Wildlife Area, Fir Island

Mt. Vernon, Washington  USA