Tri-colored heron hunting (56K mega warning)

[Maestro]

I took these pictures one morning at the Laguna Madre Nature Trail/Wetlands on South Padre Island, Texas. I have more to post but I will start here. I am also posting in the Lounge and Birders forums since there are quite a few bird aficionados that do not frequent the photog forum. C & C always welcomed and I hope you enjoy this glimpse into Nature. We need to do more to save it. :thumbsup:

First here are few pics of the wetlands. I'm not a landscape photographer sadly.









I stood basically here while taking the pictures. Notice the bird droppings. It's quite a popular perch. :rofl:



On to business....

Heading into a small inlet this tri-colored heron was searching for the small fish that inhabit the wetlands.


"Hey, what's that?" it ponders.


Better go in for a closer look.


Ready to strike


Sadly I missed the actual strike, but here are the fruits of the effort. I hope this compressed image allows you to see the two fish it caught.


Another view


After eating, it flew onto the deck to preen. This is a funny capture.
:)

I stayed there for hours over a period of three days. I really loved it there. But I had to say good-bye until next time. I left a beautiful sunset...







And I left the heron still doing what it does best.

[Blue_In_AK]

1. What a great bird

The fifth one from the bottom cracks me up. And by the way, those look like perfectly good landscapes to me, so don't sell yourself short.

[Maestro]

9. Thanks Blue

but I am hankering for some of that Alaskan wildlife. ;)

[regnaD kciN]

12. I'm a bit late to this party...

And by the way, those look like perfectly good landscapes to me, so don't sell yourself short.

...but I'll agree with Blue_In_AK. Those are very much comparable to wetlands/coast work I've seen from highly-regarded landscape professionals.

[soup]

2. Most excellent pictorial!

Thank you for sharing these, Maestro.

and I agree with Blue. Your marsh photos are really good and make a nice opening for the bird shots, and the sunset a beautiful ending.

Love the getting 'ready to strike' shot. I've never seen one pump up like that before taking a beak plunge (must be a Texas thang :) ). Looks like it worked, though, since he came up with a double catch. Maybe I should show your pics to the pond visitors here.

They're so much fun to watch - that gliding skate through the water - so graceful, so elegant, so precise. Then he goes and blows his stately image with the silly preening.

Enjoying these and looking forward to seeing more.

[Maestro]

8. Thanks soup

They are elegant to say the least. I am preparing my next batch right now. :thumbsup:

[Adsos Letter]

3. Those landscape shots are beautiful Maestro,

I agree with Blue, don't sell yourself short. I really like the (perspective?) in that boardwalk shot. All of the landscape shots are nice; I find the second and third ones especially appealing. Something about the way those tufts of grass are arrayed in #3 that are very interesting to the eye.

Those bird shots are great, and I can definitely see the fish. Do you use a tripod?

That one of the Heron checking out his wings is great! :D Looks like a combination pilot/mechanic doing it's pre-flight walk through.

I read about Padre Island years ago; as a kid I was hooked on "True Treasure" magazine and J. Frank Dobie's "Coronado's Children".
Have you stumbled across any Spanish coins during your travels there?

Thanks for sharing these.

:hi:

[Maestro]

4. Thanks adsosletter

I suppose what I meant by the landscapes shots is that there are just that without any true focus or perspective other than I pointed the camera and shot. I didn't compose the shots or look for anything interesting. I did though compose that shot from the deck a bit more, but still it was more to document the place. For most of my bird shots I use a tripod, especially when using my 500mm lens. When I use my 100-400mm zoom I usually don't. It has Image Stabilization which is quite good. Here is my setup with the tripod. I used it to take some pics of pelicans and laughing gulls. I tried to get some terns but they were just dern fast.



Just kidding... :rofl:

Here it is.

[Adsos Letter]

6. Yes...yes, I can see how you would need a tripod with that...

:rofl:

I need to use my tripod more; I am in the habit of freehanding everything and, although the Sony has the "stabilization" function, I definitely have the shaky-hand syndrome goin'.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

5. You and qnr must almost be neighbors

he has just moved to that area, I think.

[Maestro]

7. I was just visiting. I'm from North Texas.

Did qnr move to Padre or just Texas in general?

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

10. S. Texas, I think

Corpus maybe?

[Eurobabe]

11. Very nice, soothing pictures

Love the preening shot, that is goofy! Can't quite tell what the bird was doing? :crazy: