This showed up on Facebook as a memory and I am pretty sure I have not shared it here before. I don’t do a lot of bird photography but this is one of my favorites.
Although not the main attraction, the fog in this shot from 2017 does make the background less distracting and blends well with the Great Blue and its perch.
Although I now have the Tamron 100-400, the equivalent 1365mm the 65x optical zoom provided by the Canon SX60 does a very nice job of covering a lot of distance with no crop required for this. The Tamron would have needed cropping for this size image although might have finer detail. I’m happy with its performance.
Stephen Gingold Nature Photography Blog 
Either I wasn’t aware or didn’t remember that you have a Canon SX60. The maximum 65X zoom gets you a lot closer to birds than your other equipment, as today’s picture confirms.
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I think I’ve mentioned it before but that’s no matter. It does get me a lot closer to the moon, that’s for sure.
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I see now that you mentioned the SX60 in your reply to my comment on that moon portrait. It’d be tempting to carry a camera like this (say its successor, the SX70), just for the occasional picture of a bird or other distant animal, but my camera bag is already as heavy as I’d want to lug around.
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Last year I picked up a smaller bag and for a while was satisfied. But more opportunities that called for something not in my bag made me miss the old Tamrac so I purchased another and am carrying much of what I used to. I’m not quite as strong as before so it does challenge me but I’ve survived to this point. Hopefully it’ll make me stronger and not that other thing people talk about.
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While driving, I sometimes see an animal that causes me to pull over and try for pictures. It occurred to me that just for cases like those, keeping an auxiliary camera like the SX70 in the car would be easy and wouldn’t bog down my camera bag.
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That is basically how I use mine too. I have a bean bag that I drape over the slightly open window to steady it as when fully extended it’s like a springboard.
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Very Robert Bateman~I love this!
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Now that’s a great compliment. Of course, he makes the image with his mind and fingers and patience and I click a shutter. 🙂
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Ah, but the crucial talent and skill you share is SEEING.
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Beautifully, naturally monochromatic. Beautiful shot.
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Thanks, Michael.
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Ooh, I love this! Well done!
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Thank you, Joanne.
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The composition, the pose, the uniformly soft colors, the match of texture between the feathers and wood – all of that makes this very special.
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Thank you, Lynn. It seems a simple enough image but there is a lot to it.
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The feathers made me check the distribution maps. Cornell shows them as year-round residents in your area, and that makes me even more sure that this fellow is in breeding plumage: those long, fancy feathers falling from his neck and across his back are the sign. Which month did you take the photo?
That makes his preening even more smile-worthy. He might be spiffing himself up for the sake of out-competing his rivals.
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That’s interesting. I am not a dedicated birder at all, but have not heard of GBH’s overwintering here. To the best of my knowledge they show up in Spring, make nests or refurbish an old one, and lay eggs. But it may have slipped my notice if others have posted anything different. Some do stay in the north near the coast but not inland I don’t think.
This image was made in August of 2017. Usually that is part of my file name and when you click the image you should be able to see it in the lower left corner. As far as whether it is breeding plumage, I wouldn’t recognize that but would be surprised as I mentioned.
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Here’s a good article from Massachusetts Audubon. The overwintering birds are around Cape Cod — the map wasn’t that specific. But, it’s also great to read that the number of Great Blues in your area has been increasing, as has nesting activity. The illustration on the site I linked looks like your photo.
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Thanks for the link, Linda. I’ve seen plenty at Harvard Pond as they mention in the article. I used to see quite a few at Poor Farm Swamp here in Amherst which is mainly where i have photographed them but the number of waders has diminished there. Probably low water from few rainfalls during recent summers played a part. This year I saw more there along with greens and great egrets. Increasing numbers is happy news.
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The fog certainly contributes, as does the behavior of the heron preening itself. I love these birds.
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I am pretty happy with this image, thanks, Todd. They are my favorites followed closely by the greens. Of course part of that is because until getting the zoom, or the SX60, they were the only birds large enough for me to photograph.
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