Little Blue Herons

[Kevin Scott]

Here are a few shots of Little Blue Herons from Gatorland. My primary goal was to get some good shots of this particular bird. The last time I was there I didn't get enough that were good. All shot manual with the D2X and 300 f4 AFS.

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I really liked his position on this one....like a dive bomber:

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Here are a couple of shots of a juvenile. They have very interesting feather patterns. Neat to think they start off white and end up burgundy and grey.

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[Gale]

Beautiful shots Kevin.

Are you sure that isn't a Redish Heron ????

Geeezz some of these colors get me confused.

OK enough already.

Frank taught you just to good.

Now mine look like chit...

 

[Russ Smith]

Kevin

That is another great series.

Kind of wished Gatorland wasn't so far. I missed going this year due to some obligations.

Russ

 

[Kevin Scott]

Kevin

That is another great series.

Kind of wished Gatorland wasn't so far. I missed going this year due to some obligations.

Russ

Come down sometime...I'll be happy to go shoot with you. Tallahassee's not that far!

 

[Kevin Scott]

Beautiful shots Kevin.

Are you sure that isn't a Redish Heron ????

Geeezz some of these colors get me confused.

OK enough already.

Frank taught you just to good.

Now mine look like chit...

Yeah, Frank done me good, alright.

Pretty sure it's a Little Blue Heron. I googled before I posted just to be sure. I went back to my Reddish Egret shot and they're definitely different. Egret's more brown than burgundy, has a brownish beak and different colored legs. This heron has a blue beak. Harry also said there are only about 8000 Reddish Egrets in the country. There were about that many at Gatorland.

 

[Micah]

Wow...nice shots. I really like #3 for it's unusual perspective.

Keep up the great work!

Mary

 

[Gilles]

I am very intrigue, what's that in the tree behing the bird in picture #2?

 

[drueter]

Nice shots, Kevin! I really like the perspective on the 3rd one -- are you actually above that juvenile?

 

[Kevin Scott]

Hi Gilles, the black thing looks like a Cormorant just above the bird and just behind it is either the female Cormorant or maybe an Anhinga. That particular pine tree was where both varieties of birds hung out.

 

[Kevin Scott]

Thanks for the kind words, Mary and Don. The interesting perspective is exactly what I was trying to take advantage of. I posted a mini review of Gatorland in the "Places to Shoot" forum along with some pictures of the surroundings. Included is a shot of the 3-story observation deck. Sat I spent all afternoon on levels 2 and 3, mostly so I could get shots of birds flying between me and the water. I thought it would make for a more interesting shot. The birds fly at all levels there so there sure is a variety to choose from.

Thanks for taking the time to look and comment.

 

[Flew]

Great series Kevin. You are certainly getting the most out of that set-up.

I need to figure out how to get down there so you can take me to shoot at this place. 8)

 

[Keith]

Really like the different perspective in your compositions, nicely done Kevin!!

Keith

 

[Kevin Scott]

Hey Frank--yes, I like the 300. Still think the 200-400 would be ideal. But then having to add zooming into the equation might be enough to cause a meltdown. You'd really like this rookery and the flight opportunities. There are still bird nests with eggs so there will be some activity for quite a few weeks. Let me know if you're serious...I'm always willing to go.

Thanks Keith for the kind words. Now that I'm getting better at getting them in focus and exposed properly, I'm searching for more interesting angles.