Green Heron at Dock
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Considering when I first began taking pictures of birds it was difficult finding green herons to take pictures of, they now occupy my viewfinder fairly frequently. The last time I think was out at Big Cypress where the colorful species looked wonderful against the grays, lavendars, and sage greens of the cypress forest. That post is HERE if you’d want to see that location. Another post with a bit more information on this species is HERE.
This bird just happened to drop in onto my backyard dock and so I ran in and grabbed my bird lens and followed it with my camera while I could. Schools of mullet in plentiful fashion swirled around the dock and the bird concentrated greatly but I never did see it make a dash for a catch. The canal did have substantial hurricane related debri floating around, not particularly enticing looking really. Maybe those things obscured the bird’s eye view.
I thought the first image was very pretty as the blues and greens of the water when sunlit blended closely with the colors of the bird. Anyone in our southern coastal areas lives with the threat of hurricanes, but luckily a lot more often we live with beautiful herons and egrets.
I tend to prefer deep depth of field with photography so it is not often that I set the camera for a lot of blur. I find with my 300mm lens that F4 blurs more of the bird than I like, and F6.3 or even F8 is better. I like the entire bird in focus generally. With this the bird is ok but DOF is quite shallow for me.
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After following the green heron along the dock it dropped down onto some of the floating debri. This I think is a palm frond but with some foam bits that I am sorry are floating around in the water. The bird looks beautiful in the sun no matter where it stands.
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Still playing with shallow DOF in this black and white treatment. The bird stands at the edge of my neighbors dock in a pleasant backlit scene. I love the textures of docks. The more weathered the better!
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I am so glad the Fall season is here and with it the winter bird migration and nesting season.
Janthina Images - Photo Journal 
Beautiful heron, one that we don’t see in our area. All these images are beautiful, and I do like the second one where all the attention is focused on the bird.
Well that’s a vote for shallow DOF. I guess that is what it is for…separating the subject from it background so it pops. I’ll for sure play more with shallow DOF. I think part of the reason I haven’t gotten into the habit is that with a lot of movement you have to nail it and deeper DOF is more forgiving.
You’re so lucky to get these birds in your garden. And I do like looking at your photos (always a hope of improving my own).
I find if the light is good and you try to nail the focus, usually it turns out ok. I agree, it is always cause for a run for the camera when a bird lands in the yard and hangs out by the dock for a bit. I ma looking forward to getting back to the rookery though,but that will wait until November after they reopen after maintenance.
You remember I said of Little Egrets now breeding across Breydon? Well my daughter nailed a wonderful series, first time out with the camera. For me, they fly away! Good luck at the rookery. By then you’ll be able to ‘delight’ (or not) in the noise!
Hope so!!
I suddenly realized that I haven’t seen a green heron in several days. They do that — after spending the summer with us, they just fade away. They’re like coots in that regard. One day they’re there, obviously flocking up, and then they disappear. I finally read that the coots tend to fly at night — probably because they’re such terrible flyers!
It seems to me that the first photo is a little “busy,” just because of all the reflections, but I like it. I just like the other three better! The tension in the second, fishing pose is great, and the black and white really is a nice way of presenting the bird. They’re among my favorites. I miss their chatter when they’re gone!
Apologies for a tardy reply!! I also thought the first image was on the busy side, yet I liked it anyway. It seemed that the colors of the sparkly waters matched so perfectly the shades of greens and blue in the bird’s back feathers. Nature in camouflage. It is good to get input on the shallow DOF image since I don’t do that often. It does isolate the subject nicely and the tension as you say is palpable. Well on the chatter side, I am just finding I can hear some of it again when I finally recognize the sound source. How cool is that!!??
Beautiful pictures Jan! The green herons aren’t as frequent here as the other herons and egrets. It’s always a pleasure to see them.
It actually took me awhile before I saw a green heron when I began photographing birds early on. They seemed shy and scarce. But, now, though less often than other herons and egrets, I take them for granted a bit more!!
Did I actually call you Jan!!! I’m sorry Judy. I’ll blame it on the auto correct. 🤦🏼♂️
Well I did notice that, but to some level I have a double personality when it comes to the photography presence with Janthina Images. I think Janthina is a fine name so I thought Jan worked ok!! 🙂 No worries there!!
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Beautiful photos Judy ~ a majestic bird and while I often see and admire the great blue heron, I’ve overlooked its beautiful cousin 🙂 I love the second shot!
I apologize for a tardy response!! So happy you stopped in for a look and it is easy to overlook most anything when the majestic great blue heron is around! I’d say the only time they don’t steal the show is when a great blue heron nest is situated next to a wood stork nest. You don’t realize how imposing and large the wood storks really are until then. And, thank for input on the shallow DOF. Looks like I ought to concentrate more on that style of image.