There is nothing like a good soak in the bath when you are having a tough day. 🙂

This is a behavior I have never seen before. The Tricolored Heron at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge had waded in deep for a bath. Generally when they preen and bathe, they stand ankle deep at best, and use their beaks to catch up water which is applied to the body and worked through the feathers. This bird seems to have submerged its whole head and most of its body. I saw it later, out drying on the shore, and it appeared to be fine. Strange.

Canon SD100HS behind the the 30x eyepiece on the ZEISS DiaScope 65FL for the equivalent field of view of a 2200mm lens on a full frame DSLR. 1/250th @ ISO 100. f6 effective. Program with iContrast and –1/3EV exposure compensation.

Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.