Yes, the lighting is odd. I photographed this one, in early light, because of his color and eye.
I’m not sure why but this coloring is not unique. I have seen, and photographed, others like this. I need to pay attention now to the time of day I capture others looking this way.
Back to the eye; in bright sunlight their slit iris all but disappears.
As the reeds start to die down and change colors it’s even harder to spot these birds.
If they don’t move they are almost invisible.
Good news is they are in constant motion.
The first photographs of the day. This was my greeting when I arrived in a marsh. A Black Vulture (well, 2 actually).
This bird was sitting on the metal field gate closing a dike trail.
This spot is wider than the dirt road, and is always blocked to vehicles. The marsh is here and people come back here to fish and crab.
One of them is always here to greet you, and will come with a few feet to check you out.
Fishermen must throw them the old crab bait, chicken legs.
It was a day for Great Blue Heron in flight photographs. At least 3 different birds circled me and passed over the marsh several times.
As soon as one would land, another jumped up to chase him. Territory was a big thing suddenly.
The temperatures had gone back up, but spring thoughts should be far away.
The water was still high over here so perhaps it was all about a good fishing spot.
I put away the long lens. It was a very pretty day.
I haven’t shot this much in a single day for a long time. Migration and general fall movement is in full swing. We discovered a marsh area with low water, so did every marsh bird for miles.
Several areas will close down for 3 – 4 months to protect migrations so I am slogging out whenever I can to those spots.
So today, 10/22/18 it was everything from Eagles, to Spoonbills, on to local dinosaurs.
I’ll add a few quick articles to publish in the morning, while I’m back out there at dawn… I’m fried !
Standing silent as I walked by.
I grabbed a few shots, different angles, and moved on.
Some twist and turns (pun intended) by Terns.
When shooting Terns I expect a whole bunch of deletes. Because I photograph wildlife almost daily I can get a bit lazy, and in a rut, shooting in flight birds.
Birds like these are good for the soul. Remind you who is really in charge. I tend to get a lot empty blue sky.
Click, or double tap, any image to view the gallery.
