The Venice Rookery is an excellent place to photograph water birds. It is in the city of Venice on the west coast of Florida, just south of Tampa and Sarasota. The cover photo of Arthur Morris' "The Art of Bird Photography, The Complete Guide to Professional Field Techniques" was shot there. So was the cover of George Lepp's "Beyond the Basics" (Volume I). The rookery is actually a small island in the middle of a small lake. The lake forms a natural barrier such that the island is a safe place for the birds to nest. Photography is done from lakeshore. This information comes from http://photo.net/learn/nature/venice . Photos of the rookery appear in http://www.naturesmoments.com/articles-Venice%20Rookery.htm .

Most of the photographs in this gallery focus on a single great blue heron. They are numbered accordingly. In all fairness to the heron, no one knew if it was male or female.