To me a photographs surrounding environment is just as important as the subject. You can’t always get beautiful backgrounds, but when you see one like this you grab the shot.
Heron, Salt Marsh
Unfortunately the Great Blue had a different idea and just as I shot, he jumped. However ultimately it made for a nice series.
Heron, Salt MarshHeron, Salt Marsh
A nice lift off, and then another Great Blue moves in right behind. This must be the best seat in town because the stump wasn’t empty for even a minute.
Heron, Salt MarshHeron, Salt MarshHeron, Salt Marsh
I stayed focused on the first bird in flight not taking any chances on missing everything being greedy, been there, done that.
I would have liked to catch both in the center frame though …
I was shooting shore birds when I spotted this Great Blue. I didn’t expect one but this is an inlet along the coast so he was in clear view for a long way.
Great Blue Heron FlightGreat Blue Heron Flight
Ten frames a second and a wide open view makes for a bunch of images in a series.
Great Blue Heron FlightGreat Blue Heron Flight
I narrowed down the number of photographs and skipped many over water to finish with the Heron touching down on a small spit of land.
We found several Reddish Egrets while visiting Merritt Island, Florida. The salt marshes there are one of a few places along the Northeast coast they prefer.
There are a few white morph Reddish around but most have this beautiful ‘reddish’ coloring.
Calm Reddish EgretCalm Reddish Egret
These birds have a complete dance routine they use to scare up small prey and create wing shade on the bright surface. Unfortunately all the ones we saw were calmly fishing like any other Egret.
Calm Reddish Egret
If you have ever seen a Tricolored Heron dance around while fishing you have seen a slow imitation of a Reddish. Tricolored dance a waltz, Reddish a Balanchine ballet.
Calm Reddish Egret
It’s not uncommon to see one of these birds with a tracking device. They are always in danger of toxic changes to the coastal waters and a bellwether for identifying problems.