Blue Hour

This Great Blue Heron was captured in the fall of 2023 at Grand Teton National Park.

I was lying at the edge of the pond, photographing ducks while waiting for the local moose to wander down like they did every evening.

This heron flew in from my left with a deep whoosh, passing like a moving shadow before settling on the lone log in the pond.

The sun had just slipped below the horizon, easing into what photographers call the blue hour. That mix of fading light and an overcast sky washed the scene in cool tones, giving the heron an almost unreal blue glow.

In all my years of observing these birds, I’ve never seen a great blue heron with coloring as vibrant as this one.