World Bird Wednesday XVI

The Great Blue Heron Revealed

In the back of my house the Pine River has been locked in ice since December 8th. That is three solid months and the novelty of skating and skiing on it has worn thin. During the warmer months we are treated to the sight of Great Blue Herons slowly, carefully, stalking the shallows for the frogs and fish. At night I hear their haunting croaking as they fly away to some secret place. When Suzanne and I paddle our kayaks these ultra shy birds stay a step ahead of us, flying away as soon as our quiet boats round the bend. I constantly have to remind myself when walking out of the house, my mind preoccupied with some chore, to open and close the door silently lest I spook a Blue or Green heron and miss a chance to see them making their living.
So what an unbelievable pleasure for this budding birder to have before me the sights of the Venice Rookery. A privileged look into the nursery of the Great Blue Heron!

        Now it's time for World Bird Wednesday

This is the home of World Bird Wednesday. A place for bird photographers from around the world to gather and share their photographs and experiences as they pursue Natures most diverse and beautiful treasurers, the birds. The Blogosphere connects like minded people from around our planet like no other technology can do. World Bird Wednesday will be open for posting at 12 noon Tuesday EST North America through midnight on Wednesday.

You are invited to link your blog with other bird photographers in a weekly celebration of these most diverse and intriguing of Earth's residents, the BIRDS.


                                                       

#1. Simply copy the above picture onto your W.B.W. blog entry. It contains a link for your readers to share in WBW. Or you can copy this link on to your blog page to share W.B.W. http://pineriverreview.blogspot.com/

#2. Come to The Pine River Review on Tuesday Noon EST North America through Wednesday midnight and submit your blog entry with Linky.

#3. Check back in during the course of the next day and explore these excellent photoblogs!

You don't have to be a Bird Watcher or expert photographer to join in--just enjoy sharing what you bring back from your explorations and adventures into nature.

The thumbnails below are links to our contributors blogs where you can view their beautiful posts. The idea of a meme is that you will visit each others blogs and perhaps leave a comment to encourage your compadres!
                      Come on it's your turn!

World Bird Wednesday XV

The Great Egret  (Ardea alba)

These photos were taken on a bright  afternoon just outside of Sarasota, Florida in an area known as the Celery Fields. These wetlands had been drained in the last years of the 1800's for agricultural use. The main crop grown here was...celery! In 1994 the land was purchased by Sarasota county and re-crafted again into wetlands capable of storing excess rainwater. Soon after the birds returned and it is claimed 185 species have been observed here in the years since. Florida is catching on to the fact that bird watching is a big eco-tourist attraction.

Blown Highlights Are Us!

It was a tough test trying to get pictures of these brilliant white waders that weren't blown out. How wonderful it would be to spend a month photographing these magnificent critters instead of a couple hours. I'm sure there are ways to compensate for such conditions that I'm not aware of other than waiting for an overcast day. Mid-day sun is sure good for getting the fast shutter speeds necessary for Birds in flight though.

  

        Now it's time for World Bird Wednesday XV
    
      This is the home of World Bird Wednesday. A place for bird photographers from around the world to gather and share their photographs and experiences as they pursue Natures most diverse and beautiful treasurers, the birds. The Blogosphere connects like minded people from around our planet like no other technology can do. World Bird Wednesday will be open for posting at 12 noon Tuesday EST North America through midnight on Wednesday.


    You are invited to link your blog with other bird photographers in a weekly celebration of these most diverse and intriguing of Earth's residents, the BIRDS.

                                                      

#1. Simply copy the above picture onto your W.B.W. blog entry. It contains a link for your readers to share in WBW. Or you can copy this link on to your blog page to share W.B.W. http://pineriverreview.blogspot.com/

#2. Come to The Pine River Review on Tuesday Noon EST North America through Wednesday midnight and submit your blog entry with Linky.

#3. Check back in during the course of the next day and explore these excellent photoblogs!


You don't have to be a Bird Watcher or expert photographer to join in--just enjoy sharing what you bring back from your explorations and adventures into nature.

The thumbnails below are links to our contributors blogs where you can view their beautiful posts. The idea of a meme is that you will visit each others blogs and perhaps leave a comment to encourage your compadres!

                     Come on it's your turn!

World Bird Wednesday II

                                                  Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)
So here's how it went down. I shot into Midland this morning from Mo-town on the promise of a sunny day and the warning that the next two days would bring a wintry mess. I wanted to get my new 400mm lens out and play National Geographic. It was still kind of cloudy when I reached Midland so I went home and tried to get a couple "small bird in flight" shots near the feeder to bide my time. Finally the sun started to burn through a bit and I pulled out the car, drove around, and hiked into the usual spots. Nothing. The shadows were already starting to get long so I changed strategy. The sun in the west is a good time to go by Overlook Park on the East side of town because the light is over your shoulder that time of day and it lights up the birds dramatically. I drove up the hill but the birds were a little to distant out on the lake for photo-ops even with the 400mm's long reach.

I left and drove around some more and spotted a big bird in a tree. It was way back in this guys yard. Fortunately he was out raking and agreed to let me wander back and get some chances at this Osprey. The bird flew off, I was satisfied I had photographed something but before I gave up and went grocery shopping I figured I'd make one more stop by the lake overlook. Suzanne called on the cell and I sat in the car talking to her for a few minutes. With the conversation finished I got out of the car and all over the lake birds were scattering, my camera was set up to shoot at 1/2000, lens cap off, and there s/he was swooping past me...I got twenty shots off and I was pumped!
What luck!

                                               Happy World Bird Wednesday!

                                                                                             Springman


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This is the home of "World Bird Wednesday." It is a place for bird lovers from around the world to share their photo-blogs. The Blogosphere connects like minded people from around our planet like no other technology can do. Our second World Bird Wednesday will be open for posting at 12 noon Tuesday EST North America through noon on Thursday. It would be most helpful, though not required, if you would identify your capture by it's common name and/or Latin name.


You are invited to link your blog with other bird photographers in a weekly celebration of these most diverse and beautiful of Earth's residents, the BIRDS!

Three easy steps!

#1. Simply copy the above picture onto your W.B.W. blog entry. It contains a link for your readers to share in WBW. Or you can copy this link on to your blog page to share W.B.W.        http://pineriverreview.blogspot.com/

#2. Come to The Pine River Review on Tuesday Noon EST through Thursday Noon and submit your blog entry with Linky.

#3. Check back in the course of the next day and explore these excellent sites!

The thumbnails below are links to our contributors blogs where you can view their beautiful posts. The idea of a meme is that you will visit each others blogs and perhaps leave a comment to encourage your compadres!

                                                                Come on it's your turn!

WORLD BIRD WEDNESDAY

      

                         Day One, Let There Be Birds!

      As I have traveled the blogosphere it has been my pleasure to observe the work of fabulous photo-naturalist and in the process learning plenty about the various approaches to capturing these images of natures most intriguing, diverse and illusive of species, birds.  Wonderful meme's such as Skywatch Friday and Weekend Reflections have given me, a very amateur but enthusiastic bird photographer, the desire to contribute to a bird themed meme where I could post word and picture of my small adventures. Alas, I could not find one! In my colossal naivete I thought perhaps I should be the person to start one. So I have taken a deep breath and begun. Think of it, bird photographers from around the world, with a shared passion and excitement for this difficult and enchanting pastime, encouraging and surprising each other with the products of our quest, the ultimate pleasure of capturing the reflected light off a beautiful bird into the magic boxes we now call cameras.
      To my compatriots on every continent, let us share our appreciation for the feathered creatures that  fly above and around us with a freedom terrestrial creatures can only envy!
      It is our world, it is day one.

                                                                                                        Your Host,
                                                                                                                         Springman!


This is the home of "World Bird Wednesday." It is a place for bird lovers from around the world to post their favorite bird picture of the week. The Blogosphere connects like minded people from around our planet like no other technology can do. The inaugural World Bird Wednesday will be open for posting at noon Tuesday 11-23-10 EST North America through noon on Thursday 11-25-10. It would be most helpful, though not required, if you would identify your capture by it's common name and/or Latin name. Example: White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)



You are invited to link your blog with other bird photographers in a weekly celebration of these most diverse and beautiful of Earth's residents, the BIRDS!

Three easy steps!
                                
#1. Simply post the above picture on your W.B.W. blog entry.

#2. Copy this link on to your blog page to share W.B.W.     http://pineriverreview.blogspot.com/

#3. Come to The Pine River Review on Tuesday Noon EST through Thursday Noon and submit your blog entry with Linky.              

And remember to click on the thumbnails of our contributors and comment on each others blogs!
                                          
                                                      Come on, it's your turn!