I never intended to become a birder, it just kind of happened, and now I cannot get enough of it. I still would not call myself a birder; just one photographer who loves to be in the presence of birds as often as possible. I have been learning a ton and having so much fun.
It is exhilarating to find birds in their natural habitat and to follow them along from a distance with a telephoto lens to observe their behaviour, especially while they are hunting and feeding. Photographing birds is also a perfect way to hone photography skills for action and movement in and around the water and for aiming to get at least one eyeball in focus.
Who doesn’t want to be as close as possible to wildlife? Well, I guess there probably are some folks out there … for me, it’s a joy.
In these images as you can see, I was photographing great blue herons feeding on eels and fish. These images were taken in the month of May 2019, which apparently is a month where the fish and eels they were feeding on, are abundant on Vancouver Island.
I had the place to myself on most days, and in fact, I went back 5 days in a row!
What I found, however, was myself dreaming and longing for faster autofocusing and tracking, and for an even a longer super telephoto lens … who wouldn’t want to get even closer through the lens?
However, as many of you out there know, longing for gear you don’t have, takes you away from the moment and from the JOY of just being there outdoors in a gorgeous natural setting, with these stunning birds, and feeling peaceful and happy. So it is super important for one to tame the mind, and to bring it back to what really matters, and that is the moment; being present, and in being grateful just to even be there at all and to witness things that some people in other parts of the world, may never see in a lifetime.
Truly I was, and am, grateful and my excitement increased tenfold when I had the added bonus of success with some of my images; it made me super happy.
This post is day 3 of my commitment to myself to write a simple blog post each day. I am on track!
The great blue heron is a wading bird, or a wader, and they are defined by their long and skinny legs, big feet with long and agile toes. This combination gives them a more stable base for balance and they can forage in mud and in also in somewhat deeper waters than other birds, in both ocean and freshwater. They have long and flexible necks and their long bill which is very pointy and sharp, was able to reach the fish and eels with ease, and in some cases, they stab their prey in order to pick up and eat their catch. As they eat their prey whole, I saw them stabbing fish that looked too big, multiple times in order to get the fish into the right position, in order to swallow it.
/brenda
Birders are a strange (but love-able) lot, but if you hang around them for too long, you will experience the one-day-you-aren’t-and-bam-the-next-day-you-are-a-birder phenomenon. And, there is no escape, resistance is truly futile.
You haven’t perhaps been hanging around the crazy birder friend of ours in Metchosin? 🙂
Heron photos are gorgeous, by the way!
Thank you so much, my friend, Scott, for taking the time to read my post and view my images, and especially for taking the time to comment. I really appreciate it. And yes! Birder Addiction has happened! Just LOVE it. Ha ha. Resistance, no need, but this addiction, no cure.
Regarding our mutual birder friend in Metchosin? I wish! She and I spoke many times in past about going birding together but it hasn’t happened yet. I would love that as she is so super knowledgeable ands been at it for a long time. Have an amazing day!