{"id":1681,"date":"2010-12-24T10:28:13","date_gmt":"2010-12-24T16:28:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=1681"},"modified":"2025-10-12T14:01:51","modified_gmt":"2025-10-12T19:01:51","slug":"hidden-treasures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2010\/12\/24\/hidden-treasures\/","title":{"rendered":"Hidden Treasures"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Least<\/a>Least Bittern in a wetlands –\u00a0 Roosevelt County Wetlands, Pinellas County, Florida
\n<\/strong>D200, handheld, f6.3, 1\/200, ISO 250, 80-400mm at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

As a bird photographer, I often strive for images where the subjects are out in the open, without distractions in the foreground or background. But, like any photographic “rule,” that one\u2019s made to be broken. There are times when a hidden treasure can be very appealing.<\/p>\n

Least Bitterns are elusive birds. You\u2019ll most often see them tucked in among reeds, cattails, rushes, or long grasses along the shorelines of freshwater lakes, ponds, and wetlands. With their plumage patterns and coloring, it can be tough to spot them when they\u2019re hidden in the vegetation.<\/p>\n

I took this image knowing the bittern wasn\u2019t out in the open, but I still think it has appeal.<\/p>\n

\"TricoloredTricolored Heron in spartina –\u00a0 Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida
\n<\/strong>D200, handheld, f6.3, 1\/250, ISO 200, 70-300mm VR at 300mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I was sitting in the water of a shallow lagoon at Fort De Soto’s north beach photographing some shorebirds when I noticed this Tricolored Heron making its way toward me through the Spartina on the shoreline.<\/p>\n

Even though I knew I wouldn\u2019t have a clear view of the heron, I took photos anyway, thinking the grasses would be out of focus enough to avoid being distracting. I liked how this image turned out.<\/p>\n

\"HiddenHidden treasure – A Burrowing Owl juvenile –\u00a0 Antelope Island State Park, Utah
\n<\/strong>D200, f7.1, 1\/750, ISO 250, 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The juvenile Burrowing Owl above was one of four chicks in the brood at this location. Its siblings were more out in the open than this one, but I liked the color of the dried vegetation, the lacy patterns the plant material created, and how the bird’s face was basically in the clear. So I took several images of it before turning my lens back to the other owls. The green tones in the background complement the warm tones of the Burrowing Owl and the dried plant material.<\/p>\n

\"GrayGray Partridge in fresh green grasses –\u00a0 Glacier County, Montana
\n<\/strong>D200, f6.3, 1\/750, ISO 500, 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Gray Partridges are not native to North America. They were introduced in the latter part of the 18th century, and after repeated introductions, some populations survived and have become stable. Glacier County, Montana has a mix of agricultural and fallow fields that Gray Partridges seem to thrive in, and that\u2019s where I saw this one walking through some grasses.<\/p>\n

Ideally, I would have liked to show the entire body of the bird without any obstructions in front of it, but in this case, this is where the species is often seen in the wild, and maybe more importantly, how it’s seen.<\/p>\n

For me, this image works because of the clear view of the partridge’s head and eye, the way the grasses in the same focal plane show some sharpness and fine detail in the seedheads, and how the other grasses in the foreground and background are out of focus.<\/p>\n

Images like these aren\u2019t always appealing to others, but I find them compelling in their own way. Since the size of my portfolio is only limited by the size of my hard drives, I often take photos where I see potential, even when I know I might be bending or breaking some rules.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my bird photos in their galleries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As a bird photographer I often strive for images where the subjects are out in the open, without distractions in the fore or background, but as with any photographic “rule”, they are made to be broken.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":153145,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[511,27,52,25,704,860,386,384,12,862,254,26],"tags":[55,215,4214,4116,2411,626,388,635,2410,294,634,3989],"class_list":["post-1681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antelope-island-state-park","category-avian","category-burrowing-owls","category-florida","category-fort-de-soto-county-park","category-glacier-county","category-gray-partridges","category-least-bitterns","category-montana","category-roosevelt-wetlands","category-tricolored-herons","category-utah","tag-athene-cunicularia","tag-bird-id","tag-burrowing-owl","tag-egretta-tricolor","tag-gray-partridge","tag-herons","tag-hidden","tag-ixobrychus-exilis","tag-least-bittern","tag-owls","tag-perdix-perdix","tag-tricolored-heron"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/tricolored-heron-hidden-mia-mcpherson-florida-5631.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-r7","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":42748,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/10\/21\/american-bittern-juvenile-black-crowned-night-heron-comparison\/","url_meta":{"origin":1681,"position":0},"title":"American Bittern – Juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron Comparison","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 21, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"To the untrained eye American Bitterns and Black-crowned Night Herons can be confused so I thought I'd visually compare the two species with other keys to aid in their identification.","rel":"","context":"In "American Bitterns"","block_context":{"text":"American Bitterns","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/wading-birds\/american-bitterns\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"American Bittern standing on one leg, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/american-bittern-adult-mia-mcpherson-6498.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/american-bittern-adult-mia-mcpherson-6498.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/american-bittern-adult-mia-mcpherson-6498.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/american-bittern-adult-mia-mcpherson-6498.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":62931,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/01\/19\/tricolored-herons-in-florida-habitats\/","url_meta":{"origin":1681,"position":1},"title":"Tricolored Herons In Florida Habitats","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 19, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"When I lived in Florida Tricolored Herons were among my favorite wading birds to photograph and I found them in many different types of habitats.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Tricolored Heron at Roosevelt Wetland, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tricolored-heron-wetlands-mia-mcpherson-2751.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tricolored-heron-wetlands-mia-mcpherson-2751.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tricolored-heron-wetlands-mia-mcpherson-2751.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tricolored-heron-wetlands-mia-mcpherson-2751.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":929,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2010\/09\/26\/great-blue-herons\/","url_meta":{"origin":1681,"position":2},"title":"Great Blue Herons","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 26, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Great Blue Herons are North America's largest heron and one of the three largest herons in the world.","rel":"","context":"In "Bird ID"","block_context":{"text":"Bird ID","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/bird-identification\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Great Blue Heron up close, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/great-blue-heron-up-close-mia-mcpherson-8094.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/great-blue-heron-up-close-mia-mcpherson-8094.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/great-blue-heron-up-close-mia-mcpherson-8094.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/american-bittern-winter-mia-mcpherson-5489.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/american-bittern-winter-mia-mcpherson-5489.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/american-bittern-winter-mia-mcpherson-5489.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/american-bittern-winter-mia-mcpherson-5489.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1088,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2010\/10\/14\/tricolored-herons\/","url_meta":{"origin":1681,"position":4},"title":"Tricolored Herons","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 14, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Another one of my favorite wading birds is the Tricolored Heron, a bird that used to be called the Louisiana Heron. It can be found in estuaries along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, in inland freshwater marshes in Florida.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Tricolored Heron side view, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/tricolored-heron-mia-mcpherson-8889.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/tricolored-heron-mia-mcpherson-8889.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/tricolored-heron-mia-mcpherson-8889.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/tricolored-heron-mia-mcpherson-8889.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":45708,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/03\/22\/age-related-color-morphs-of-little-blue-herons\/","url_meta":{"origin":1681,"position":5},"title":"Age Related Color Morphs of Little Blue Herons","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 22, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Little Blue Herons start off their lives with white plumage, then look piebald with blue and white fathers and finally look more \"blue\" as adults.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"First year Little Blue Heron, Roosevelt Wetland, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/little-blue-heron-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-4921.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/little-blue-heron-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-4921.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/little-blue-heron-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-4921.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/little-blue-heron-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-4921.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1681","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1681"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1681\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/153145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}