Green Heron

[SCraig]

Green Herons are rather small Herons, but like most of the species are quite skittish where people are concerned. I've seen several but have been unable to get anything that was usable until today. This one was skittish as well but after a few minutes got accustomed to my presence so I was able to get relatively close. Well, close enough for 500mm anyway

 

[DarkShadow]

Nice shot.

 

[sm4him]

Terrific shot, Scott! I agree, in fact I think green herons are even MORE skittish than the bigger varieties. Being so small, they can be tough to spot too, so they often take off before you even realize they were there.

 

[SCraig]

Thanks guys. This one is more of a personal victory than a good shot because I have seen a number of them without getting anything. Usually, as Sharon mentioned, they are flying away from me when I see them. They sit perfectly still and blend in with the brush that is always present around waterways in this part of the country, then take off before I even knew they were there.

This one was on the bank of a small lake, and when he saw me he took off but only flew up into a tree. I eased up to the tree and took a few shots of him sitting on a limb, and then he flew back down onto the bank where I got this one. I've seen so many from the back that it was a victory to me to get a decent shot of one.

 

[cbarnard7]

500mm!?

 

[SCraig]

500mm!?

Yep. Sigma 150-500 at 500mm. 1/320 @ f/6.3, ISO 800.

 

[mishele]

Nice catch!

 

[SCraig]

Thanks, Mishele. I didn't get much of anything else but it made getting up before dawn worthwhile

 

[mishele]

I'm not a morning person...lol So good on you for getting up!!

 

[SCraig]

I'm not a morning person...lol So good on you for getting up!!

I'm always up early. I got in the habit of going in to work early to miss rush-hour traffic, and early this year one of my cats developed a cancerous tumor in her mouth. After her surgery I had to start getting up even earlier to hand-feed her. She's doing fine now but I keep waking up at that earlier time Even on weekends I seldom sleep late. This morning I watched the sun come up at a Waffle House while eating breakfast

 

[mishele]

I have no interest in seeing the sun come up...lol I'm a night person! I'm not usually to bed before midnight. =) Early mornings are painful to me...lol

 

[SCraig]

I have no interest in seeing the sun come up...lol I'm a night person! I'm not usually to bed before midnight. =) Early mornings are painful to me...lol

I can relate, I was the same way for a long time. Mornings were truly, physically painful, usually fueled by a lot of residual alcohol