Description
A great blue heron high in a bare tree, blue sky behind him, standing among branches that look far too thin for a bird that size. Winter light, plumes lifting slightly in the air moving through the canopy.
This is the photograph that surprises people. Everyone files the great blue heron under “water bird” — wading in the shallows, standing on a log. But herons are tree birds for a good part of their lives. They roost in trees at night and they nest in colonies at the very top of them, sometimes a hundred bulky stick nests in a single grove, all of it a good eighty feet off the ground. There is a rookery like that at Oaks Bottom, and in late winter the bare cottonwoods fill with birds.
The branches only look inadequate. He is roughly five pounds — mostly feathers and hollow bone — and those long toes wrap and grip like a hand. What appears precarious is simply a bird using the perch that gives it the best view of everything below.
This is a high-resolution digital download of the photograph, made in Portland, Oregon — yours to print for your home or office, set as a wallpaper, or simply keep.
What you’ll receive: a high-resolution JPEG, approximately 3424 × 2464 pixels — sharp enough to print at full photo quality up to about 11 × 8 inches at 300 DPI, and larger at normal wall viewing distances. Delivered as an instant download the moment your order is complete.
License: Personal use only. Print it for your own home, use it as a wallpaper or screen background, enjoy it yourself. Not licensed for commercial use, resale, redistribution, or AI training. © Jonathan Swanson / JonSwan Productions. All rights reserved.