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Thursday, February 9, 2017

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:

Fog on shore 20170207

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

Little Blue Heron 20170207

Little Blue Heron 3-20170207

Little Blue Heron 2-20170207

Little Blue Heron 4-20170207

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):

View to west 20170207

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):

 GB Heron on lake 20170207

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:

Great Blue Heron 06-20170207

Great Blue Heron 05-20170207

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

Great Blue Heron 01-20170207

Great Blue Heron 02-20170207

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

Great Blue Heron 03-20170207

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

Pied-billed Grebe 20170207

Suddenly two Egyptian Geese flew low overhead, calling loudly:

Egyptian Geese 20170207

Egyptian Goose male 20170207

On the walk back home, some colorful treats--

A retreating Northern Flicker:

Northern Flicker 20170206

A male Northern Cardinal...

Northern Cardinal male 2-20170206

...and his mate:

Northern Cardinal female 20170206

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

Painted Bunting male 20170206

Painted Bunting male 2-20170206

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

Red-shouldered Hawk immature 2-20170206


 Red-shouldered Hawk immature 3-20170206

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

Ruby-throated Hummingbird 20170202

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

Red Pentas 20170202

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

Palm Warbler 20170203



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:

 Bald Eagle female tending nest 20170206

 Bald Eagle male roosting 2-20170206


= = =  = = =  = = = =  = = = = =

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 Jesh

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

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26 comments:

  1. Beautiful nature photography and a bit of creative editing too ~ thanks,

    Wishing you a Happy and Peaceful Weekend ~ ^_^

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  2. Hi Kenneth, please ignore and delete my last comment. LOL! :) I am visiting several blogs today trying to catch up. Your photos are absolutely gorgeous! I love everything here, and herons are so elusive...it is lovely to see one this closely. Thank you so much for sharing, and I hope you are having a great week.

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  3. Stunning reflections in the first group of photos. Excellent shots!!

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  4. Wow what a wonderful array of birds. The shots of the Heron and reflections are so pretty. You live in such a lovely area. Always cool to see the Eagles.

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  5. Awesome pictures of the Heron! And all the rest!

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  6. outstanding photos I like them all, especially the herons being reflected! awesome!

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  7. Wow! I would love to take a morning walk like that! Stunning photos - I really enjoyed seeing all the beautiful scenery and birds. The way the light played off the heron's plumage was beautiful. I would not want to be stared down by that male eagle, though! He looks like he means business! Enjoy those nice temperatures. - K

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  8. What fantastic bird photographs. Superb.

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  9. Oooh, as always a lovely sky but the bird shots are something else, just beautiful, you have made me attempt bird photography ( and it's so not easy!)

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  10. Love your reflections photos, especially the ones with the birds flying close to the water. They are spectacular.

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  11. Hello, love the herons and gorgeous reflections. Lovely sunrise. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekend!

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  12. I love, love, love the heron images. Have a great week-end.

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  13. Amazing reflections! Especially considering the low light and movement.

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  14. Stunning pics. So glad you get out earlier to take them even though Mary Lou beats you out there. Oh well, your pics are still great. Love the reflection pic and your bunting shots. I just love all your pics!!

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  15. Wow...dazzling!! All of them Ken.

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  16. wow...super reflections and fabulous photos of the birds!

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  17. Your photos always thrill my soul! Such a variety and such beauty! I love to start my day with your blog posts...gives me a warm wonderful feeling!

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  18. Thank you so much for your amazing photos. Yes, I see the red bird and I LOVE it.

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  19. Beautiful nature photography. Love the reflection.

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  20. Fabulous bird shots and scenery!

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