Me: I didn’t know he was there, I snapped the shot.

Spoonbill: I didn’t know he was there, I snapped the photographer.

This was not so close as to scare the Spoonbill, but I was in the flight path. He was going back to the nest, and I had better move out of his way.

The problem was it was not like he could tell me.

And… big birds drop down low on take off before gaining altitude. Like the shot above.

Big wings do help the birds lift up quickly. But not before I got a good look at places I had never seen before.

I came away with no great images, but a good story. That’s even better.