Wordless Wednesday: Create Your Own Title

Wordless Wednesday: Grey Heron and Traffic Mirror

Bird Image: Grey Heron in Taro Fields

Camera: Pentax K3

Lens: Pentax 300MM with 1.4 converter -- Focal Length 420MM

Exposure:  f/9   1/500   ISO 100 

Location:  Kin Town, Okinawa, Japan

Date and Time:  FEB 10 2016  3:45PM

Grey Heron in Flight in Morning Sunlight

Camera: Pentax K3

Lens: Pentax 300mm with 1.4 converter Focal Length 420mm

Exposure:  f/5.6   1/1600   ISO 200

Location: Namisato, Kin Town, Okinawa, Japan

Date and Time:  NOV 24  2015  8:06AM

Related Post:

10 Photos of the Grey Heron with Wings Spread

Bird Photo: Grey Heron with a Brown Belly

First Time for Everything

 

 

Out on a photo shooting day with a couple of  hippies, I spotted this bird.

Not prepared to shoot wildlife, the big lenses, stayed behind and, I felt like kicking myself.

There were other Grey Herons in this location but, this one really stood out.

There are so many in my collection, I really didn't feel the need to photograph any more.

This character either has brown belly feathers or, was playing somewhere in the mud.

It was hanging around with Ardea cinerea (Grey Herons) but, I don't know if, it is one.

All the Grey Herons, I have ever seen, have yellow legs and white undersides.

None of my bird expert friends were around, to talk to so, I did some research.

Over at ARKive, Grey Heron was the first place to look at images. 

They tell you about the bird's colors, breeding habits and population distribution.

Nothing, looked exactly like this specimen so, I checked other sites.

More information was gathered at Birdlife International  and, I learned something new.

"Breeding site The nest is a stick platform that is often re-used over successive years (Kushlan and Hancock 2005), usually positioned high in a tall tree up to 50 m, but also on the ground or on cliff edges, in reedbeds or in bushes. In reed-beds nests may be built of reeds, and ground nests may be reduced to a slight scrape, ringed with small stones and debris (Snow and Perrins 1998)."

A Grey Heron with a nest in the mud, surrounded by rocks, could get a brown belly. 

All kinds of herons are pictured at, Carolina Birds Organization. 

There's a Goliath Heron (Ardea goliath) with similar underside markings.

It's got me wondering. Does this bird have mud on it's tummy and legs ?

Or, could it be the result of a Grey Heron, fooling around with a Goliath Bird ?

A Little Trick I Use to Shoot the Grey Heron in the Eye

Whenever Possible Use a Tripod

 

 

Why does an old geezer like me carry a tripod along with the heavy camera and lenses ?

It helps steady everything when, I'm shooting in rapid fire and, I do that a lot.

The tripod, also holds my position when, I make manual adjustments.

Here's a screenshot taken while processing a RAW file of the image above.

There aren't any cross-hairs present inside the camera viewfinder.

The image is enlarged and the cross-hairs appear when I decide to do some cropping.

They show the exact point, I was focusing on, when the shutter was opened.

The Trick: Use a tripod and, focus on the bird's eye.

You May Also Like:

Plenty of Wildlife and Nature Activity at the Nagahama Dam

Six Images of the Grey Heron in Flight

Bird Photo: Grey Heron in Blue Skies

Camera: Pentax K3

Lens: Pentax 18-250 with 1.4 converter for focal length of 350mm

Exposure: f/11   1/400   ISO 200

Location: Tomigusuku, Okinawa, Japan

Date and Time:  OCT 2 2015  11:32AM

More about the Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) in this previous post.

Wildlife GIFs: Grey Heron in Flight

November in Okinawa Just Can't Be Beat

 

 

It was a little windy and warm so, the birds probably liked it as much as I did, today.

These photos were taken, where the Okukubi River, meets the Kin Dam.

 Photos of several different species of birds were taken over a period of about 3 hours.

The Grey Heron shots, I liked the best.

They are just magnificent birds, when they are in flight.

And, today, they performed for me, when the lighting was just right.

If you enjoy being outdoors, this is the time of year to visit the Ryukyu Islands.

Six Images of the Grey Heron in Flight

This afternoon, I went for a walk with the Pentax K3 and a 300mm lens.

The Kin Dam, is a good location to find these birds.

Standing at the top of the dam, I adjusted my exposure for the green background.

When the heron, came along, I was ready.

All I had to do was hold the shutter button down and pan the camera.

Use of a tripod, steadied my shots.

Grey Herons, in flight, show some terrific colors.

When they aren't flying, they can sit in one spot for hours.

The Latin name for these birds is Ardea cinerea.

In Japan, it would be Ao-sagi, which translates roughly as Blue Egret.

This one made my day.

Walking Talking Grey Heron (Photo)

Of course, you'll hear no sound.

We went shooting cameras today but didn't do flowers or, museums.

Outdoors, shooting wildlife is where I'd rather be and that's what happened.

Next, I'll leave the cameras and go see if there's any wild life in the city.

10 Photos of the Grey Heron with Wings Spread

These photos were taken today at Tomigusuku, Okinawa, Japan.



The bird's scientific name is Ardea cinera.

Local terminology would be Ao Sagi.

The folks at ARKive say this is the biggest heron in Europe.

If there is a larger heron in Asia, I've never seen one.

If you see a more enormous bird just let me know where it's located.

Send lots of cash for my travel expenses and, I'll go shoot one for you.

The Grey Heron can sit in one spot for hours and never move.

Once they spread those wings and fly, you get an awesome display of feathers.

Photos made at f/8  1/5000  ISO 400 using the Pentax K3 and a Sigma 50-500 at 360mm.

The camera was handheld and panned because my tripod was busy doing something else.

Wildlife Photo: A Pair of Grey Herons (Ardea cinerea)

The Largest Heron in Europe

 

These birds, the largest Heron in Europe (ARKive Org) live in Okinawa, Japan, too.

With that pointed bill they can grab a fish or, spear it. Fish are what they usually eat.

But, if they get real hungry, they might eat furry animals, too.

For any non-believers, who don't think a heron would eat a rabbit, I found this for you.

A wildlife photographer in Holland captured photos of the action.

He saw an Ardea cinerea (Grey Heron) grab a baby rabbit by the ears.

The heron flew off, to find some water and drown the critter.

Then, swallowed the whole thing !

Go have a look at the Daily Mail UK, if you'd like to see it.

RELATED POSTS:

Grey Heron Antics in the Mangroves

Grey Heron vs Osprey

Grey Heron: Portrait Mode

Visit my homepage for today's Feature Photo

Grey Heron (Ardea cinera) Portrait Mode

The Grey Heron, sometimes sits in one place for hours.

This bird had been fishing, earlier and, was just air drying itself.

It gave me plenty of time to move around and compose a portrait-like shot.

Photo taken Nov 21, 2012 at Tomigusuku wetlands in Okinawa, Japan.

Pentax K5 equipped with a Sigma 50-500 lens at 500mm

Wildlife Photo: Under the Bridge

Grey Heron in Flight

Wildlife Photography can be Challenging

 

Birds do the darndest things, sometimes, but, you have to shoot them anyway.

Then you get back, away from nature, and download the cameras to see what you've got.

Probably, 95% of the photos, you should throw away.

 Don't Expect to See too many Contest Winners

 

This feathered friend was an expert at ruining photo compositions.

Grey Herons show some beautiful colors when you catch them in flight with the right light.

That would be, with the sun shining behind you, over your shoulders.

Well, this rascal knew that and, didn't want to be photographed.

So, flying into the sun was what it kept doing.

Silhouette Photography is Always an Option

 

Firing  in continuous shooting mode, the bird was captured flying under the bridge.

The photo, to me, still isn't contest-worthy.

But, I'll share it here, just because it reminded me of a catchy tune, for a title.

Remember that Red Hot Chili Peppers song Under the Bridge ?

Photography Tip: Silhouettes Break All the Rules

Visit my website for today's Feature Photo

Photos of the Things You See Along the Okukubi River

This series of photos was taken in less that two hours along the Okukubi River in Okinawa, Japan.

There's a Grey Heron posed in the corner of this photo so I could show off the blue sky.

A little farther into the mangrove forest was this Coot.

Some real friendly Eco-tourists smiled and waved when I signaled asking to take their picture.

Next, I spotted this Black-winged Stilt and shot him.

Look at that dude in the last kayak.  He's relaxing while she's paddling.

I bet they're on a honeymoon and it just ain't over, yet.

He'll learn.

Soon.

 

It was 2:41PM when that first photo was taken.

These Egrets took off at 4:02PM

and so did I.

Visit my homepage for the PHOTO OF THE DAY

Down in the Mangroves of Okinawa You Can Observe Nature

The mangrove forests of Okinawa are great places to observe nature.

Even a crab, like me, gets invited to come on in.

There are medium-sized birds like this Egret among the uncaged and free-roaming wildlife.

And there are small, fast-moving birds like this Wagtail.  You can observe all of them hunting for food.

If you look deep into the center of the mangrove forest and be very quiet, you might see a Grey Heron.

What's he doing in there ?

He went in there to finish his lunch somewhere away from me observing nature with my noisy camera !

NOTE:  THESE PHOTOS WERE TAKEN IN NAHA AT THE

MANKO WATERBIRD AND WETLAND CENTER 

Grey Heron Antics in the Mangroves of Okinawa (Photo Essay)

This series of photos was taken Nov 23, 2011 at a Wetland Center in Naha Okinawa, Japan.

The Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) is a beautiful bird to photograph when they are landing, taking off, or in flight.  But, just watching them in the mangroves can be fun, too.

It takes some patience because the Blue Heron can stay in one place for hours doing nothing.

They won't give you any clue as to when the antics will start.

 Sooner or later they have to put on some sort of show.

This one sent out some sort of message.

Then, waited for a reply.

Did a little dance.  Shook it to the left.

And shook it to the right,

Then got an itch.

And scratched it for awhile.

Let out a little rebel yell.

And went right back into the doing nothing mode, again.

If you go back and look at the first photo and compare it to the last one, the Grey Heron's antics seem to have improved its attitude.

So, next time I'm in the mangroves maybe, I'll leave the camera behind and try acting like a Grey Heron.

  Who knows ? 

It might work for people, too !