There are not many Great Egrets around this swamp yet. It’s early for breeding.
I was in the right place to photograph this Egret as he moved towards a rival bird. I was in the wrong place to catch their squabble.
Great Egret Heading Towards A Rival
Category Archives: Birds
The Beginning Of House Keeping, Heron
A traditional pose this time of year, early Heron mating season.
This adult sits waiting for the mate to return with more sticks. Once a pair has mated and bonded both take turns gathering nest material. Since you can’t always tell by size which one is gathering it really can be a guess, or you have been watching them and see their interactions.
Hint; the male is dominant. Well, until he does something wrong one too many times. Then all hell breaks loose.
Heron Hunting The Perfect Stick
My favorite type of shot and caught 3 photographs of the flight.
We can normally get a multi image flight series but this was different. Poor light… and a suspect lens.
We have an older Canon 100-400 that has gone out of daily use. These were captured using the old lens.
The Canon L series, this is one of that group, is known to be some of the best glass made. We replaced this lens in question with a newer version 100-400.
For most of the day this old lens kept up just fine. However, end of day the focus motor started to grind and at one point quit for a while. We use our gear a lot and even the best can wear out.
Because the early work came out good I will keep it for a mid range back up in case of an emergency.
Another Quick Ibis
Lately I am getting more and more opportunities with the White Ibis.
This in flight was caught over an open marsh, plenty of brown water. Normally no one wants brown water, but the white bird shows off nice on a darker back ground. I’ll take it.
Shooting Into A Cypress, Egret
I was actually focusing through a small opening in the branches. A rain and wet kind of day which gave an odd glow to everything I shot.
This Egret came into the tree from the opposite side of me and I grabbed some images anyway. Most were trashed by all the branches.
These few caught the landing.
I think that at some point I must changed my white balance which could explain the tones.
Just Grabbed The Stick, Heron
07You might need to view full screen depending on how you look at this.
This Great Blue was in a tree line picking around for the perfect stick, something they spend a huge amount of time doing.
I was waiting, and holding up a big heavy lens, to catch the final selection. My arms got tired, and he sprang into the air. I almost missed the whole thing.
Click, or double tap, any image below to view the gallery.
Just Grabbed The Stick, Heron – click to enlarge
Just Grabbed The Stick, Heron – click to enlarge
Just Grabbed The Stick, Heron – click to enlarge
Wandering In A Swamp, Ibis
Ibis have been around the swamp rookeries more than usual. I don’t remember any nesting here, besides that it’s early for them.
I must admit to not paying any attention to where they have been building nests.
Since it’s January I must assume close by. The only cold times we have are January – February. However, a cold spell might send them to mid Florida to breed, which makes more sense to me.
Landscape Egret
Taken at last light and at the time an after thought.
The images from the very end of a day, especially here, can go either way. Most have too much grain. The bird and reflection here compensated for that,