Ever since I shot this I have looked at this Heron, saw his attitude, but never got it. It was just a shot and I kept it aside.
The other day I scrolled by it again, and I finally saw it.
Bottom right a Gallinule had invaded his space. The Little Blue was not very happy about it.
Specs; OM-1 mk2, OM 100-400 II, Lightroom.
I was looking around for some new Snowy Egret shots. I’ve published Great Egrets recently, even have a few in the que, but no little Snowy Egrets. My current active hard drive has thousands of images I just had to go find some Snowy’s.
I found some.
Two Snowy Egrets in some brush preening and getting all fluffy. For something different I finished them in a sepia tone.
Specs; OM-1 mk2, OM 100-400 II, Lightroom, DxO Silver Efex.
I usually don’t shoot them while preening. However, two like this…
They were sitting together on a huge Live Oak filled with Spanish Moss.
Specs; OM-1 (1), OM 100-400 II, Lightroom.
Very focused on the water below. The Little Blue can stare like that for hours.
Specs; OM-1 mk2, OM 100-400 II, Lightroom.
Some of the largest Live Oaks you can imagine are along the banks of the old pond in Magnolia Cemetery / Umbra Plantation.
Because the marshes are right here these tress are the go to home for all types of wading birds. Roseate Spoonbills stay here after feeding in the shallows of the Cooper River.
These trees are huge and thick allowing the Roseate Spoonbill a safe roost. This side looks over a big pond. The other side of the tree provides no access to sleeping birds. This keeps them far from nosy photographers 😂😂.
Specs; OM-1 (1), OM 100-400 II, Lightroom, Topaz.
I carried my old OM-1 (1) this day to test the results of a firmware update. All was fine, even though I didn’t pay close attention to the instructions. After all, real men don’t need a manual! (And can then spend time rebuilding the custom settings).
By a Night Heron rookery, on a branch in the open.
Doesn’t happen very often.
These big trees heavy with Spanish Moss are one of the first sights that greet us as we enter the open marsh areas we like to photograph. With luck we have company like this, a sign there’s at least a little activity there.
ACE Basin, Donnelley, South Carolina.
I waited for this juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron to lift his head. Even though I was braced on a tree the angle was awkward, I’m out of practice holding a lens up for any amount of time. Finally he won, I grabbed a shot and moved on. It was a pretty long distance so I didn’t think it would be much anyway.
Turns out he was looking across the water the whole time.
Best viewed large.
