Crops & Clips: Morning Herons

We were out early as usual this week, about 25 minutes before sunrise. Also as usual, I was only halfway into the wetlands when Mary Lou passed by as she headed back out! It was good to see her walking fast and leaving me in her dust! The temperature was a mild 65 degrees F (18 C), the winds calm and the sky was clear.

Wisps of fog persisted on the far shore of the lake:



In the semi-darkness a Little Blue Heron flew in and settled to forage in a shallow area near shore:









At sunup the surface of the lake was like glass, and you may barely see the Great Blue Heron perched on a rock in the distance (click for enlarged view):



Our herons are not accustomed to the human presence. To take advantage of the increasing light, I planned to walk out on the peninsula to the far right of the above photo to get better views. Before leaving this vantage point I zoomed in a bit with my pocket camera (Canon PowerShot SX700 HS):

 

To my surprise, the heron did not fly off as often occurs when one even steps foot on the peninsula. Cautiously, I snapped a couple of nice reflection images:





The rising sun was shining in from the left and it accented the heron's plumage:





I crept up so close that the heron filled my viewfinder:



While I was photographing the heron, a single Pied-billed Grebe disturbed the surface of the lake:



Suddenly two Egyptian Geese flew low overhead, calling loudly:





On the walk back home, some colorful treats--

A retreating Northern Flicker:



A male Northern Cardinal...



...and his mate:



A couple of poor shots of an uncooperative male Painted Bunting:





An immature Red-shouldered Hawk flew from a utility box and then veered sharply to clear a fence:



 

Earlier this week, I photographed a female Ruby-throated Hummingbird, the first I have ever been able to attract to our back yard:



Maybe our blooming Red Pentas tempted her to try out our sugar-water feeder:



During my hummingbird photo-shoot a Palm Warbler posed in one of our Mango trees:





Our local Bald Eagles show signs that their first egg may have hatched. The female was sitting high as if "tenting" a newly hatched eaglet, and the male seemed to be in a protective mood as he roosted near the nest, staring at me intently. He usually ignores a photographer viewing from a safe (and legal) distance:

 

 


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Linking to Misty's  CAMERA CRITTERS,

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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 Jesh

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Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display

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