Thursday, December 15, 2016

Long-legged bird beauties

Gray skies can sometimes be a blessing for bird photographers, as they produce less glare and fewer shadows:

Wet prairie on foggy morning 20161208

On a foggy morning just after sunrise, two white herons foraged in our local wetlands:

Fog on wetlands 20161208

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:

Great Egret HDR 20161208

The other, an immature Little Blue Heron, lifted off gracefully:

Little Blue Heron HDR 20161208

In better light, another Great Egret posed at the edge of the wet prairie:

Great Egret 3-20161205

A female Julia heliconian sipped nectar from a Lantana flower:

Julia heliconian female 20161206

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:

Great Blue Heron backyard 08-20161210

It sighted something interesting:

Great Blue Heron backyard 091-20161210

It lunged, but came up empty...

Great Blue Heron backyard 02-20161210

...and ruffled its feathers:

Great Blue Heron backyard 04-20161210

Great Blue Heron backyard 05-20161210

Great Blue Heron backyard 06-20161210

It then strolled away, paying us no mind:



Great Blue Heron backyard 09-20161210


= = =  = = =  = = = =  = = = = =

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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22 comments:

  1. Wow, Kenneth, I have never seen any of these birds this closely before! I have seen a few blue herons here in Montreal, but they stay far away from land...for example, I can see them in the water, perched on a rock, a hundred yards or so from shore. They are very elusive and stand as still as statues. Thank you so much for sharing.

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  2. Amazing birds! I really enjoyed these photos!

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  3. stunning photos! Love the series with the ruffled feathers!!!

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  4. Beautiful wildlife photos. That must be the scruffiest looking Blue Heron I've ever seen. I can never get within a quarter mile of them here. Great close up portraits.

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  5. Yes, lovely captures Kenneth - I like the serenity of the opening scene and the last shot of the Great Egret because I do enjoy contrasts, be they of colours or textures. Wishing you and yours a wonderful Christmas and thank you for the joy your photography brings to us in blog land.

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  6. Love the ones with the ruffled feathers! See here you are linking to many memes. Welcome to ALL SEASONS (it's about any experience in the season, but some do landscapes)). Link is usually open from Sunday - wed., except for two coming weeks -all week. A direct link to the one for next week (posted somewhere on Sat). Hope to see you there!
    https://artworksfromjeshstg.wordpress.com/2016/12/17/all-seasons-tomorrow-december

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  7. I really like the photo of the Great Egret. Well captured!!

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  8. Hello, your photos are always awesome. Love the egrets and the heron. Pretty butterfly. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Have a happy day and weekend. Wishing you and your family a very merry Christmas!

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  9. They're so beautiful! Ours are gone!
    (ツ) from Cottage Country Ontario , ON, Canada!

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  10. Love the ruffled feathered shots ~ all are great but the ruffling seems so expressive ~ thanks ~

    Wishing you peace in your days ~ ^_^

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  11. They are so beautiful and graceful :) lovely shots!

    Have a Merry Christmas :)

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  12. How funny! I don't think I've seen one ruffle their feathers quite like that! What a sight! Enjoy your weekend!

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  13. Oh I love the drama of the gray overcast and fog here today!! Impressive photos. My favorite, of course, is the GBHeron. Wow.

    Beautiful images! Many thanks for sharing at I'd Rather B Birdin' this weekend. Have a glorious week ahead.

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  14. Gorgeous birds and location! Hope you have a wonderful week!

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  15. Amazing photos. Whaty are there beautiful birds around our world. Thanks for sharing.

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  16. Great photos. I especially like the egrets - I always find them so beautiful.
    Thanks for sharing at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2016/12/visiting-bethlehem-gloria-in-excelsis.html, and have a wonderful Christmas!

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  17. I love the ruffled feathers photos of the Great Blue Heron!
    Merry Christmas!

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  18. Stunning images especially the Heron, great captures!
    I just wanted to pop by to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Healthy New Year with best wishes from Prunella Pepperpot!

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