Dancing dark morph Reddish Egret – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/1000, ISO 200, Nikkor 70-300mm VR at 300mm, natural light
These two Reddish Egrets; a dark and a white morph, were photographed on the same day at Fort De Soto’s north beach in May of 2009 and both of them were showing signs of being in breeding plumage. This dark morph wasn’t quite in full breeding plumage because the bill would be pinker and the lores a deeper blue if it were but it was close. Dark morphs are far more common than white morphs and I felt lucky to photograph both morphs on the same day.
I photographed this Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens) in a tidal lagoon while sitting in the water as the bird danced around me on the hunt for prey. My Nikkor 80-400mm VR was off being repaired so that day I was using my Nikkor 70-300mm VR for all the bird images I took. This egret was so busy hunting that it paid me no mind at all as it rushed around the lagoon. There were a few times I thought the bird was going to run right into me.
I like the bird’s pose, eye contact and the action this image conveys as well as how it shows the water, shore, wrack line and the sand dune in the background.
Hunting white morph Reddish Egret – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/1250, ISO 250, Nikkor 70-300mm VR at 250mm, natural light
This white morph Reddish Egret was busy hunting in the Gulf of Mexico when I photographed it. It’s lores are a deep purplish blue and the black-tipped bill is very pink. I was sitting on the sand of the shoreline as the egret raced around trying to catch prey where the waves broke and like the dark morph, this bird all but ignored my presence.
Reddish Egrets are sometimes called “Drunken Sailors” because of their movements while hunting, they often wobble, twirl, dance and seem to stumble. It is very amusing and entertaining to see and photograph and they never failed to delight me.
Wow, this is my 500th blog post and it has been great fun to share my images and the stories behind them. I thought I’d share a few images and bits about my thoughts on photography.
Adult Dunlin feeding – Nikon D200, handheld, f7.1, ISO 200, 1/250, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light
What got me hooked on bird photography?
I would say shorebirds are why I am addicted to bird photography because they fascinated me and photographing them allowed me to crawl through mud, sand and water.
When I first started photographing shorebirds I could walk around covered in mud with my camera in my hand people just ignored me or would say “Wow, that camera must take good pictures”. Maybe they were too polite to mention that I had sand all over my face, muddy legs or a combination thereof.
Sanderling in nonbreeding plumage – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/1000, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light
I simply loved being out in nature, the feel of the sea breeze on my skin, having warm water lapping against my legs and the birds that I saw everywhere around me. I learned that if I sat or laid very still the birds would approach me and allow close ups like the Sanderling image above. Even when there were no birds around I could wade into the water fully clothed and just make it “look” like I was searching for birds while cooling off and giggling because I was in the water with all my clothes on and I didn’t care one bit.
While slithering around in mud and sand crawling through sugar sand I had many wonderful opportunities to meet and makes friends with a lot of like-minded people who love nature. I figured if they crawled around in the mud with me and didn’t mind that I smelled like a combination of fish and crab poop they had to be great people.
I learned a lot about shorebird ID, which were peeps, plovers and sandpipers and then figured out the rest. Breeding and nonbreeding plumage puzzled me for a bit but with experience, people who let me pick their brains and field guides I’ve become proficient at figuring out shorebird ID.
Roseate Spoonbill in morning light – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/750, ISO 250, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light
Then there were the larger wading birds, some with razor-sharp bills, some that curved downwards, looked like wood and spoons! I got addicted to photographing them too.
I learned not to over saturate the colors of my subjects in post processing so that they looked like what I saw through my viewfinder. The Roseate Spoonbill above is colorful enough without pushing that saturation slider up.
Why do I always mention “natural light” in my techs under the images I post?
My answer to that is that nature provides terrific light and I don’t like using flash on birds or other wildlife. I just prefer natural light over artificial.
Dancing white morph Reddish Egret – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/1250, ISO 250, Nikkor 70-300mm VR at 250mm, natural light
I studied the behavior of my subjects so I could tell when they were about to take flight, bathe, catch prey or dance like the white morph Reddish Egret above. The egret isn’t truly dancing, it is actively chasing after prey.
By observing my subjects I have gotten great action images that I might have missed if I hadn’t been able to anticipate their next move.
Little Blue Heron with a Bay Pipefish – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/800, ISO 160, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light
I found out that going out to photograph with other people was very enjoyable and that knowledge about techniques could flow easily back and forth. I photographed the Little Blue Heron with a Bay Pipefish above with two photographer friends and we all walked away with images that we were very happy with.
Singing male Red-winged Blackbird – Nikon D200, handheld, f7.1, 1/200, ISO 250, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light
I worked on my stalking skills and patience so I could get closer to my subjects without stressing them or making them flush. Of course; some still flush & fly.
Laughing Gull in breeding plumage at a water fountain – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/1000, ISO 250, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light
I feel that all birds are worthy subjects and that even the most common birds can be uncommonly beautiful in the right light, pose or setting. Normally I prefer natural settings and perches but I also enjoy images that have manmade items in them. I think the water fountain as a perch for this Laughing Gull adds a touch of whimsy.
Male Northern Harrier in flight – Nikon D200, f7.1, 1/2000, ISO 320, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited
Paying attention to how close the background material is to the subject is important. If the dried Phragmites behind this male Northern Harrier had been any closer to the bird the background may have looked very messy but because of the distance from the harrier to the vegetation plus my choice of aperture and the bokeh of the lens created a background that doesn’t draw attention away from the subject.
Loggerhead Shrike perched on Sagebrush – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/640, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light
I selected the colors for this blog and my web site using the hues of greens from Sagebrush, a shrub that is found in many areas of my adopted state of Utah. I find the gray greens soothing and I have to admit I find the aroma of Sagebrush very appealing. Besides, Sagebrush makes a great perch for many of my subjects.
Pronghorn does on a hilltop at sunset – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/3200, ISO 1000, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light
Even though birds are my primary passion for photographic subjects I can’t resist taking images of other subjects like the Pronghorn does above. If there aren’t birds around I will take images of flowers, scenery, mammals, insects and more.
The Wedge in the San Rafael Swell, Utah – Nikon D200, handheld, f9, 1/2000, ISO 400, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 18-200mm VR at 18mm, natural light
I see spectacular views, sun rises and sunsets because of my photographic journeys, some time the views take my breath away. Looking down into the Little Grand Canyon from The Wedge certainly did.
Coyote eating Falcon leftovers – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/640, ISO 800, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 314mm, natural light, not baited or called in
There are times when paying attention to one species gives clues about another. I’d seen Peregrine Falcons feeding on ducks on the shoreline of the Great Salt Lake and later saw a Coyote feeding on the falcon’s leftovers, now I know why the Coyotes were along the causeway the year before which had puzzled me. I love the piled up sheets of ice in the background of this image.
Adult Bald Eagle in flight – Nikon D200, f6.3, 1/2500, ISO 400, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited
Patience is needed for bird photography, waiting for a bird to fly, waiting for the right banking turn to light the whole bird up and sometimes just waiting for birds to show up.
Perched adult western Burrowing Owl – Nikon D200, f6.3, 1/400, ISO 200, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited
Because of my bird and nature photography I have met the most interesting people in person and have become friends with many of you through this blog or yours and I appreciate you all. Life is good.
In my two previous posts of a Snowy Egret and a Great Egret I mentioned how the early morning light and a nearby storm gave those images a feeling of drama. These white morph Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens) images were taken that same morning not long after I created the Great Egret photos.
White morph Reddish Egret with a stormy background – Nikon D200, handheld, f5.6, 1/800, ISO 125, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 280mm, natural light
As the storm moved closer is began to pour directly under the clouds and that area looked rather gray but the light was still gorgeous on my subject. I had moved south from the Great Egret when I can across this white morph Reddish Egret hunting in the shallow waters of a narrow tidal pool in between the beach and a small spit of sand that touched the Gulf of Mexico at Fort De Soto’s north beach. The egret pretty ignored my presence while it hunted, I was laying flat on my stomach at right on the edge of the warm water. Again the weather conditions gave these images dramatic light.
White Morph Reddish Egret hunting ahead of a storm – Nikon D200, handheld, f5.6, 1/800, ISO 125, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 220mm, natural light
While I photographed this egret the lighting conditions changed rapidly and often, it would get a little brighter and then get darker. I’ve learned to work with the light rather than fight with it so I was not distressed about the challenges and I kept firing away, I still wasn’t sure when or if the storm would come in and I wanted as many images as I could possibly take of my subjects in the enchanting light.
White morph Reddish Egret in dramatic light – Nikon D200, handheld, f5.6, 1/500, ISO 125, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 310mm, natural light
The Reddish Egret danced, pranced and dashed back and forth in front of me and struck some very interesting poses. They are fascinating to observe and photograph while they hunt. The storm off shore had kicked up the waves so I had to be careful to not dunk my gear into the water while still keeping my lens as low as I could.
White morph Reddish Egret under stormy skies – Nikon D200, handheld, 5.6, 1/1000, ISO 125, Nikkor 80-400mm at 400mm, natural light
The light brightened about the time I created this photo and I could see that the storm was heading towards the northeast, I knew about then that the storm was going to miss me at Fort De Soto and I spent another hours or so photographing other birds on the beach and tidal lagoons. As I drove home to Tampa I found the storm and drove home in a deluge. I lucked out though because I had several memory cards full of images that contained the great light that thunderstorm provided.
Mia
* I am out of town so I scheduled this post ahead of time, please feel free to share.
Just a quick post today of a white morph Reddish Egret hunting. I came across this file the other day while going through some of my older images.
White morph Reddish Egret hunting ~ Fort De Soto County Park, Florida Nikon D200, handheld, f8, 1/500, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light
While I lived in Florida I simply adored being able to photograph Reddish Egrets, they can be graceful or goofy looking, they twirl, dash and dance. This bird; in nonbreeding plumage, was hunting along the shore of the Gulf of Mexico and gave me quite a show.
White Morph of Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens) – The Dancer Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida Nikon D200, f6.3, 1/1250, ISO 250, Nikkor 70-300mm VR at 250mm, natural light, not baited
Reddish Egrets seem to be natural born “Dancers” when they are hunting for prey, they twirl, spin, pir0quette and dip. They can look very funny, goofy and yet still be graceful. I came across this Reddish Egret white morph while photographing with a friend at Fort De Soto’s north beach one morning and it provided us with at least half an hour of entertainment.
I’ve heard that you can only get shots like this with long lenses but I don’t think that holds true in every situation. This photo was taken using my Nikkor 70-300mm VR lens at only 250mm and this wasn’t much of a crop. One of the reasons I was able to be this close to this Reddish Egret was because the birds at Fort De Soto are used to having humans around and they are less flighty because of that. Another reason is that I either sat or laid down on the beach so that my low profile was less threatening to the egret than it would have been if I had been standing up.
White Morph of Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens) – a Ballet Pose Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida
Nikon D200, f6.3, 1/1250, ISO 250, Nikkor 70-300mm VR at 250mm, natural light, not baited
This white morph is in breeding plumage shown by the pink bill and the blue lores. Reddish Egrets can be found almost all year long at Fort De Soto, the only time I was really aware of their absence was after a tropical storm swept through the Gulf coast. Reddish Egrets frequent mudflats, tidal lagoons and along the shoreline of the Gulf of Mexico.
Watching and photographing them as they dance through the warm waters chasing prey is a spectacular sight. It is mesmerizing for a bird photographer like myself.
