I was completely unprepared for these. I don’t think I even noticed the Egret until almost on my head (slight exaggeration) .
In general I delete photographs where I clip wings or miss the angle.
I kept these because this bird missed the spot, the landing was not all that graceful.
The lament of young the world over…
A bored juvenile Heron.
The question we ask each other is, ‘how many white birds do you need’.
The answer… ‘one more’.
The classic Owl photograph. While most birds, even large ones, continuously move around, not an Owl. Silent and watchful.
Barred Owl.
Several photographs here where choosing to pull back on a zoom lens worked out well. It’s not like you have a lot of time to make the decision, so not all come out as planned.
These images used the empty (negative) space to place all the focus on the bird.
For me the danger of doing this is pulling back too far and finding the great looking bird is only a tiny speck in the photograph. I speak for experience… 😀
A Little Blue Heron hunting in a swamp.
This bird is on the edge of an island, in a swamp. There are multiple small Herons and Snowy Egrets nesting here.
The island is not huge so it can be loud, and probably not too clean. However, the bushes and trees are dense which is how these birds like it.
The color of the Heron is the mating plumage, vivid deep purples and blues. Even the bill is a magenta. They fade to slate blue, but have striking color each spring.
Up until a year ago they all nested in a larger nearby swamp. They left and some came here, the old rookery is now empty. Every year things change.
With luck they will return to the old, bigger islands. They were a lot easier to photograph.
I’m not sure how much the young birds learn from watching the others, I do know they seem to pay careful attention.
One of the most photographed animals in the world, Mallard Duck. I myself have hundreds of photographs. They are (almost) everywhere.
I say ‘almost’ because marshes and swamps here have almost none.
Now when I see one I make a point of getting closer.
