It's not easy

[HarryB]

Hi you'll,

I shot in the Viera Wetlands today and Friday hoping to get some nice egret shots as they were returning to the Wetlands in force. It should have been easy but I kept running into distractions. First it was the black-bellied whistling ducks and their ducklings then every time I started to shoot an egret some raptor would come by and distract me.

I was lining up a shot when this caracara came strolling down the road

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then this osprey landed in The Tree

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to make things worse he then hopped over to this tree that was even closer to me

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I went back today hoping for better luck but no, there he was in the exact same tree

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To make it even more worse he had a friend in the next tree, a broad-winged hawk

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It's not easy shooting in the Wetlands :lol:

 

[greyflash]

Very nice images Harry, you had a good day. Most of us would be happy with any one of them whether or not we ever found an egret. Well done.

 

[drueter]

Nice series, Harry! Most people would love to pass up the egrets to get such great raptor shots!

 

[Gale]

A broad winged Hawk, well that is what I got eating the snake. Thanks..

Really good stuff.

 

[Flew]

Awesome shots Harry, but I would have probably tossed them. If you're going after Egrets, then you have to shoot Egrets. :twisted: :lol:

You are making that 500 f4 look mighty tempting. Thanks a bunch friend. 8)

 

[Greg]

nice shots that shows the diversity and opportunities there. I'm with Frank. You obviously failed as you went after egrets. All these others were distractions that you could not handle. You need more practice.

 

[HarryB]

Very nice images Harry, you had a good day. Most of us would be happy with any one of them whether or not we ever found an egret. Well done.

Thanks Gordon

 

[daodang]

Hi Harry,

Nice raptors shots. Great capture of the walking caracara. It's a miss for me that we couldn't meet last tuesday. 700mm? What's lens did you used?

 

[HarryB]

Nice series, Harry! Most people would love to pass up the egrets to get such great raptor shots!

Thanks Don. It was a sacrifice but I went for the raptors. :lol:

 

[Backdoctor]

for a retired guy, you're pretty busy taking some great shots..

 

[Gordon Large]

Hey Harry -

You are really doing your best to wreck my enjoyment of photography. :evil: :evil: :evil: First you keep posting these great images of birds that live minutes from your home. Then you make jokes about how "distracting" it is to have so many raptors. And finally you keep showing off my old 500/4. :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:

Just kidding, of course. :lol: :lol: :lol: This is a great series, and I'm delighted that you are making such good use of the 500. I continue to find the versatility of the 200-400 to be a great advantage, at least for me. And anyhow, we don't have any birds up here in PA to photograph...

Cheers,
Gordon

 

[HarryB]

A broad winged Hawk, well that is what I got eating the snake. Thanks..

Really good stuff.

Thanks Gale.

 

[HarryB]

Awesome shots Harry, but I would have probably tossed them. If you're going after Egrets, then you have to shoot Egrets. :twisted: :lol:

You are making that 500 f4 look mighty tempting. Thanks a bunch friend. 8)

Hey Frank,

I was tempted not to shot in the first place but I'm so weak. :lol:
I am absolutely in love with the 500. It gives me the reach I need so I can shoot these guys from a disyance where I'm not spooking them. Now if I can just convince Linda that about that 600mm.

 

[Flew]

Harry,

Patrick had a 600 f4 for about a week. The 500 is big, but the 600 is HUGE. I wouldn't mind having one though. 8)

What do you think of the 500 as far as getting flight shots? I know that it is a great lens for stationary birds, as you, Jim Fenton, Ron R, and others have proved, but I wonder how easy it is to track flying birdies with it??

 

[Steve S]

Really good stuff Harry, those Caracaras,

do they really just walk along the road like that? Seems wierd for a raptor to be doing something like that. Enjoyed your shots!

 

[Flew]

Steve,

When Janie and I made one last pass through Viera in June, we saw one of these guys just off the top of the dike near the big tree. He was trying to get a turtle out of its shell. He eventually just picked up the whole turtle and flew off, but not before we got several shots of him on the ground.

It is an amazing place. 8)

 

[HarryB]

nice shots that shows the diversity and opportunities there. I'm with Frank. You obviously failed as you went after egrets. All these others were distractions that you could not handle. You need more practice.

You are absolutely right Greg. I do need more practice. I think I'll go out today and shoot some more. I'm gonna keep on trying until I get it right.

Thanks for the kind words.

 

[HarryB]

Hi Harry,

Nice raptors shots. Great capture of the walking caracara. It's a miss for me that we couldn't meet last tuesday. 700mm? What's lens did you used?

Thanks Dao. I am really sorry that I missed you on your visit down here but I wasn't quite ready yet to go out again while you were here.

The 700mm comes from the Nikon 500mm and the 1.4 TC.

 

[HarryB]

for a retired guy, you're pretty busy taking some great shots..

Hey Harris,

Retirement has been the best thing for my photography. I get up at 6 AM, I'm at the wetlands by 7 and then I home by 10 to have breakfast with Linda. It keeps me off the streets and out of trouble. :lol:

Thanks for the kind words.

 

[HarryB]

Hey Harry -

You are really doing your best to wreck my enjoyment of photography. :evil: :evil: :evil: First you keep posting these great images of birds that live minutes from your home. Then you make jokes about how "distracting" it is to have so many raptors. And finally you keep showing off my old 500/4. :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:

Just kidding, of course. :lol: :lol: :lol: This is a great series, and I'm delighted that you are making such good use of the 500. I continue to find the versatility of the 200-400 to be a great advantage, at least for me. And anyhow, we don't have any birds up here in PA to photograph...

Cheers,
Gordon

Hey Gordon,

I am such a meanie. :lol: I love the 500mm. Its a great lens for the wetlands because I can get in shooting range of the birds w/o spooking them. If I had to go with one lens the 200-400 would be a much better choice. When I go out now I have the 500 and 1.4 TC on my D2H and my 80-400 on my D100. This gives me great coverage and I can shoot just about anything I come across.