Ardea herodias. Great blue herons are often seen wading silently in shallow water. (Mike Baird/Flickr). The great blue heron is a tall, bluish-gray wading bird with a long, pointed bill and a graceful, S-shaped neck. It lives year-round in marshes and wetlands throughout the Chesapeake Bay region.
http://www.chesapeakebay.net/fieldguide/critter/great_blue_heron
The great blue heron is found in both freshwater and saltwater habitats. It prefers shallow water areas with trees for nesting nearby. Great blue herons may be found along the banks of rivers or at the shores of major water ways such as Lake Erie. The herons will migrate to warmer areas with unfrozen waters in the winter; rarely does a great blue heron remain in the state at this time of year.
http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/species-and-habitats/species-guide-index/birds/great-blue-heron
Great Blue Heron. The Great Blue Heron is our largest and most widespread Heron. This is the bird that first sparked my interest in birding. I kept seeing these stately birds fishing as I took my morning walk. Easily the granddaddy of all of the herons, it stands about four feet high and has an impressive 6-foot wing span!
http://www.birdinginformation.com/birds/herons-bitterns-egrets/great-blue-heron/
The familiar Great Blue Heron is the largest heron in North America. It is a large bird, with a slate-gray body, chestnut and black accents, and very long legs and neck. In flight, it looks enormous, with a six-foot wingspan.
http://www.birdweb.org/birdweb/bird/great_blue_heron
Description. The great blue heron stands nearly four feet tall. It has a whitish head with black plumes that originate just above its eyes and project out behind its head. The plumage of the body is brown, black, and white, yet it gives an overall appearance of being a bluish-gray color.
http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/species-and-habitats/species-guide-index/birds/great-blue-heron
Habitat. Adaptable and widespread, the Great Blue Heron is found in a wide variety of habitats. When feeding, it is usually seen in slow-moving or calm salt, fresh, or brackish water. Great Blue Herons inhabit sheltered, shallow bays and inlets, sloughs, marshes, wet meadows, shores of lakes, and rivers.
http://www.birdweb.org/birdweb/bird/great_blue_heron
Dark flight feathers show when the Great Blue Heron is in flight. Great Blue Heron. Ventura Marina. Ventura, CA. A Heron has a heavy take-off, slow wingbeats and often calls loudly as it goes. Great Blue Heron. Whittier Narrows. South El Monte, CA. This juvenile is climbing up a tree trunk using his wings to balance.
http://www.birdinginformation.com/birds/herons-bitterns-egrets/great-blue-heron/
Overview: One of the largest bird species in Ohio, populations of the great blue heron are widely distributed throughout the state. Native to Ohio, there was a time when heron numbers dwindled as these birds’ feathers were a favorite of the millinery trade during the 1800s. The great blue heron is often observed motionless, as it pursues its prey while standing in a stream, river or wetland.
http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/species-and-habitats/species-guide-index/birds/great-blue-heron
The Great Blue Heron is found in a variety of wetlands; in marshes, irrigation ditches, streams, shores, tidal flats and kelp beds and on lawns.
http://www.birdinginformation.com/birds/herons-bitterns-egrets/great-blue-heron/
Appearance: The great blue heron grows to 4 feet tall with a 6 to 7 foot wingspan. Despite its large size, its hollow bones allow it to weigh only 5 to 6 pounds.
http://www.chesapeakebay.net/fieldguide/critter/great_blue_heron
where are great blue herons found
 Great blue herons found in both freshwater and saltwater habitats. The great blue herons are found in both freshwater and saltwater habitats.