Great Blue Heron

You sometimes tend to ignore the more common species, but some of the common ones can be tough to photograph.  There's definitely no shortage of Great Blue Herons around South Dakota in the summer, but they usually flush when you get within 50 yards of them.  On an early morning in Kingsbury County, right after dawn, I came across this guy on the face of the rip-rap along Oldham Road, running through Lake Thompson.  He didn't flush, but instead gave me the perfect pose, complete with trailing head feathers.  I couldn't have asked for better light or a better pose. 

Photo taken on April 25th, 2004 at Lake Thompson in Kingsbury County, South Dakota.