Sunday, April 29, 2012

Green Heron: A Rare Encounter

Green Heron's, while common in my area are secretive birds that are seldom seen.

Green herons spend the majority of their time in heavy cover around the edges of lakes and wetlands hunting for fish, invertebrates, frogs, and salamanders.

Normally the first indication of a green heron being in the vicinity is when it flushes from heavy cover uttering it sharp kyowk.  The short flight usually ends when the heron plunges once again into deep cover where it is virtually impossible to get a second look.

However this bird showed considerable tolerance allowing me to approach to with in a few yards with the boat.  After an extended photo session the little heron walked back the log and was swallowed up by the cover surrounding the lake.

Encountering a good friend along the shoreline I handed him a camera to make this shot of me as I normally "hunt" while photographing waterfowl and waterbirds.  The boat serves dual purpose on these outings as the fishing rods are always close at hand.

11 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

these are beautiful shots, coy!

Unknown said...

Coy, great shots! They are an elusive bird. I've only seen one before!
I sure like you photo platform!

Montanagirl said...

Wonderful shots of the Heron. I have never seen of those. Your photo set-up is fabulous!

theconstantwalker said...

Lovely images of a beautiful bird... and from a boat. fantastic!

Ruth Hiebert said...

This Heron certainly cooperated well with you. I also like to see how you do your photography.

Lois Evensen said...

What wonderful images of the green heron! I also enjoy seeing you and in your stealth mode. Wow!

Kjell T. Evensen said...

Beautiful green Heron. This is the first time I have seen this bird. Great hunting equipment you have in your last image. :-)

Unknown said...

I really like the detail and color and sharpness you captured of this wary bird. Very well done. Joan and I saw two this weekend. We were unable to get shots of them as they were very wary.

Elaine said...

Wonderful shots! I really like that first one, and great to see you in "hunting" mode.

Chris said...

Wow the heron is fantasitc and your pictures too. My, you really have a fantastic photography gear ;-)

PaWingers said...

What a great way to spend a day! That's makes a great platform for taking photos.