Long-legged bird beauties

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:






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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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