Tag Archives: Bird Photography

Birds, Heron, Marsh, OM System, Swamp, Wildlife

Black-crowned Night Heron Series

4 Comments

Given I’ve been publishing Yellow-crowns lately thought I would give equal time to their close cousin the Black-crowned Night Heron.

Just about everything you can say about one Night Heron, you can say about the other. Maybe these birds are a little less fond of dark swamps. Both Night Herons chicks look almost identical for the first year or so.

These birds were photographed in a rookery also. They nest on the exact opposite side of the big ponds in the Port Royal rookeries.

Black-crowned Night Heron
Black-crowned Night Heron

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Black-crowned Night Heron
Black-crowned Night Heron
Black-crowned Night Heron
Black-crowned Night Heron
Birds, Charleston, Close-up, OM System, What I Saw, Wildlife

Not What I Was Ready For, Brown-headed Nuthatch

4 Comments

I don’t know much about these little Nuthatch. We always had the White-breasted Nuthatch only.

They’re fairly small, like Chickadee size. They are said to live in pine forests in the Southeaster US. All that fits for right behind my house.

The just seem to come and go. I would think they would be hanging here fulltime.

I will say just like the bigger Nuthatch they are upside down a lot, and as you can see below fly off quick from that position.

Not What I Was Ready For, Brown-headed Nuthatch
Not What I Was Ready For, Brown-headed Nuthatch
Not What I Was Ready For, Brown-headed Nuthatch
Not What I Was Ready For, Brown-headed Nuthatch

Specs; OM-1 mk2, OM 100-400 II, Lightroom.

Birds, Heron, OM System, Swamp, What I Saw, Wildlife

Patience Of A Night Heron

12 Comments

This was quite a long shot, and it’s a dark spot. A little surprising it came out decent. Maybe that’s why the image was in the ‘to do’ and never touched again.

When we hit a good day the number of images can get large, near 1,000 is common. Over time I’ve gotten better at culling the files but there comes a time when I just get to the point where I ‘pick a few’ and move on. That means a look through the folder later, like here in a Yellow-crown rookery, I always find shots that were ignored based on sheer volume of the opportunities.

Patience Of A Night Heron
Patience Of A Night Heron

This was taken from about as far as I would shoot in a dark swamp. The edge of this rookery has a gully where I can usually spot activity like this Night Heron waiting to see any sign of movement in the thick swamp water.

Birds, Black And White Photography, Heron, Monochrome, OM System, Swamp, What I Saw, Wildlife

Black And White Yellow-crowned Night Heron

2 Comments

Not something I would normally do in Black and White, they are too colorful. But it’s something different. Besides the ‘side eye’ look he’s giving me worked with it too.

Black And White Yellow-crowned Night Heron
Black And White Yellow-crowned Night Heron

OM-1 mk2, OM 100-400 II, Lightroom, Topaz, DxO Silver Efex.

 

Birds, Charleston, OM System, What I Saw, Wildlife

Waiting On The Hummers

4 Comments

I finally decided to shoot the Hummingbirds out back the proper way, a longer lens.  I’m also only 1/3 of the way through wearing a neck brace. This makes what is usually simple into something a little trick, and probably comical.  Solution, dig out the monopod. And discover the brace still gets in the way and… no Hummingbirds 😆.

While standing around I did notice the Carolina Wren chicks bouncing around. One landed on a feeder and I’m getting a bit rusty with this gear. So free entertainment.

Waiting On The Hummers
Waiting On The Hummers

The ‘Red Hot’ seed cake was popular with the little guys so I did take  few shots. That spicy cake actually works keeping the Squirrels away. Birds have fewer taste buds than mammals, the spice doesn’t bother them at all. In fact birds are the main dispenser of pepper seeds since they ‘spread’ the seeds around after digesting the pepper plants.

Waiting On The Hummers
Waiting On The Hummers

Our local social misfit of a House Finch stopped by also. He’s confused and has spent the last year traveling around with a Tufted Titmouse flock.

Waiting On The Hummers
Waiting On The Hummers

Specs; OM-1 mk2, OM 100-400 II, Manfrotto/Benro Monopod, Lightroom.

Birds, Close-up, Egret, Film Filter, Marsh, OM System, Wildlife

Egret Head Shot, A Little Too Close

9 Comments

The Great Egret was down in the cut, standing right on the base of the wooden trunk. Since I was up on the dike I had no other angle, or option but to take a head shot.

He didn’t stay there long. This is the spot where you both see each other at about the same time.

Egret Head Shot, A Little Too Close
Egret Head Shot, A Little Too Close

Specs; OM-1 mk2, OM 100-400 II, Lightroom, DxO Filmpack ( Kodachrome 25).