It was a morning when you could truly "see what you were breathing." Fog shrouded the local wetlands. Dew coated my camera and binoculars, and weighed down the high blades of grass. A great Egret was barely visible through the murk:
The blanket of fog blurred the background and muted the colors in my images of the egret, imparting a two-dimensional effect:
Expecting that my photos had been ruined, I was surprised to see them on the computer screen back home. The egret's black legs stood out as if etched on rice paper:
Slowly, the fog lifted and the pine bank on the opposite shore gradually emerged into view:
A bedraggled dew-soaked Prairie Warbler eyed me curiously:
Nearby, an unruffled Northern Cardinal:
The sky brightened up, and a male Soldier basked in the light. This butterfly is often difficult to find in our patch:
The Lantana flowers attracted newly emerged male and female Julias:
A male American Kestrel, perched 100 yards away, had returned for the winter:
He suddenly flew right towards me-- was it something I said?
He kept watching me as he flew off:
Our friend Scott has ready access to the lake through a private gate, halfway into the wetlands preserve. We must walk 15-20 minutes to get this far:
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Linking to Misty's CAMERA CRITTERS,
Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,
Linking to GOOD FENCES by Gosia
Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY by Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy
Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James
Linking to BirdD'Pot by Anni
Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday by Stewart
Linking to Today's Flowers Friday by Denise
Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) by NC Sue
Linking to ALL SEASONS by Jeannette
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Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display
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Gray skies can sometimes be a blessing for bird photographers, as they produce less glare and fewer shadows:
On a foggy morning just after sunrise, two white herons foraged in our local wetlands:
One was a Great Egret, almost too far away and too dimly lit for a decent photo. I enhanced this image by layering three different exposures of the original RAW file to increase the dynamic range:
The other, an immature Little Blue Heron, lifted off gracefully:
In better light, another Great Egret posed at the edge of the wet prairie:
A female Julia heliconian sipped nectar from a Lantana flower:
The weather forecast discouraged us from venturing out one morning, and light rain began to fall. Mary Lou caught sight of a "bonus bird" that made up for our missing walk in the wild. A Great Blue Heron foraged along our back lawn at the edge of the lake:
It sighted something interesting:
It lunged, but came up empty...
...and ruffled its feathers:
It then strolled away, paying us no mind:
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Linking to Misty's CAMERA CRITTERS,
Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,
Linking to GOOD FENCES by Gosia
Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY by Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy
Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James
Linking to BirdD'Pot by Anni
Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday by Stewart
Linking to Today's Flowers Friday by Denise
Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) by NC Sue
Linking to ALL SEASONS by Jeannette
________________________________________________
Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display
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