By the posture, bent legs, I knew he was taking off. I was ready, almost.
However, at the last second he leaned to his right in the complete wrong direction.
The wind was not working for him.
The breeze kept pushing him towards the bank and trees, and of course me.
He wasn’t new at this though. Totally ignoring me he came downward and turned quickly.
He actually wanted the trees over my head.
At that point all I could do was listen while he pulled at branches overhead to get the perfect stick.
What an encounter!! I once had a very close moment like this and will always remember the feeling and sound of those gigantic GBH wings right over my shoulder.
Cool story! What a great series. You captured it well.
Because he turned I probably had a better chance at more shots. Herons straight on are not good shots, they are too thin to focus on. Just enough to the side here for an angle.