A Few Birds From Yesterday...

[jprzybyla]

I got a late start yesterday so when I arrived at the marsh it was mid-morning. I was disappointed with the light, it just seemed uninspiring with a broken overcast. Certainly not the soft early morning light. The images of the birds below were tweeked using the point curve function of Lightroom 4. C&C welcomed and appreciated. Thank you for viewing.

Little Blue Heron



Great Egret



Snowy Egret



Black-bellied Whistling Duck

#1



#2

[Geoff F]

Once again, excellent photos in all respects, Joe.

[Dave Humphries]

I agree with Geoff,

Has the Snowy Egret just had an mid-morning snack on all those snails?
(never seen such big shells before)

Cheers,

[jprzybyla]

Once again, excellent photos in all respects, Joe.

Hello Geoff, thank you for viewing and commenting. Very much appreciated.

[jprzybyla]

I agree with Geoff,

Has the Snowy Egret just had an mid-morning snack on all those snails?
(never seen such big shells before)

Cheers,

Hello Dave, I appreciate you viewing and commenting. Regarding the large snails, they are called Apple Snails (freshwater). The bird that feeds on them is the Limpkin, a bird that is mostly only found in Florida. It is a large ( approximately 14 inches tall), brown and white in color. If you ever happen to visit a marsh or wetland in Florida and hear a loud screeching it is this bird. Below is posted a photograph of one.

[djg05478]

Very nice. Love the lone duck

[rtbaum]

So that's where all my birds have gone!!!! Get ready the Sandhills are on their way. Amazing shots...........I will continue to aspire.

[terrib]

Joe, I do love looking at your bird photos. I love the pose of the Great Egret and how he is framed by that tree. I also really like the puffed up Snowy Egret with the snails.

Thanks for continuing to share!

[Sergio M.]

Great shots all around, Joe. Amazing clarity that you can see the softness of the feathers.

Serge

[Bobobird]

Great set of shots. Lone duck is a really cool/cute pose to catch.

Never easy to get good framing but #2 is a well done.

[jprzybyla]

Very nice. Love the lone duck

Hello Debbie, thank you so much for taking time to view and comment. I noticed VT, USA... although I have been living in Florida for the last 12 years my first 58 were in NH. Beautiful country.

[jprzybyla]

So that's where all my birds have gone!!!! Get ready the Sandhills are on their way. Amazing shots...........I will continue to aspire.

Hello Randy, yup... the birds are arriving. I already have seen several Sandhills, more than the normal residents. Below is a photograph I shot this past spring of Sandhills I followed from nest building, egg laying and nurturing and hatching. This was taken the day the first of two eggs hatched.

[jprzybyla]

Joe, I do love looking at your bird photos. I love the pose of the Great Egret and how he is framed by that tree. I also really like the puffed up Snowy Egret with the snails.

Thanks for continuing to share!

Thank you so much Terri, your comments on my images are always a bright spot. I find birds colorfull, beautiful and graceful making them a true pleasure to photograph. The more I photograph them the more I realize that they have mannerisms making them interesting. The Black-bellied Whistling Ducks whistle when they fly, one knows they are nearby when hearing the whistling. Snowy Egrets puff their feathers as part of grooming and preening, patiently waiting and being ready captures the image.

[jprzybyla]

Great shots all around, Joe. Amazing clarity that you can see the softness of the feathers.

Serge

Hello Serge, thank you for viewing and commenting. After downloading the images on my computer I am always amazed by the resolution and detail digital cameras capture. That is what allows the feather detail to be shown.

[jprzybyla]

Great set of shots. Lone duck is a really cool/cute pose to catch.

Never easy to get good framing but #2 is a well done.

Thanks Bobo, as always I appreciate your comments.

[Teton Chuck]

Joe, you are creating some remarkably beautiful images. Thanks for sharing and thank you for providing background information. It makes the viewing more enjoyable for me.

[jeeperman]

Well done Joe, all look good. I am already looking forward to all our birds return. Some of our winter birds are arriving but not much yet.

[rtbaum]

Hello Randy, yup... the birds are arriving. I already have seen several Sandhills, more than the normal residents. Below is a photograph I shot this past spring of Sandhills I followed from nest building, egg laying and nurturing and hatching. This was taken the day the first of two eggs hatched.

How do you get so close to the birds? I tried today with a few stragglers..... I was able to park, they moved off a ways, I tried to shift to the passenger side of my work van and they took off. Are the cranes more relaxed while nesting and allow a closer approach? or am I just getting too impatient and moving to soon or too rapidly? What is your secret?

[Ken Curtis]

Hi Joe.

You captured some beautiful birds and your shots are clear in the original 5 images. It is my feeling that something is missing when I look at birds against a uniformly colored sky. Intellectually, I know the sky often looks that way, but somehow it appears as if the birds were shot in a static museum display. It isn't just your shots; I see lots of similar shots in my camera club (and I would venture to say your images are significantly better). I have found my own images are more appealing when the sky has something of interest in it, namely clouds to give a little texture. Don't know if you would consider replacing the sky in any of your images or not. Anyway, not picking on you. Your shots are far better than I could do. Just kind of rambling on about a potential way to improve the images. Feel free to electronically rip up this paragraph and throw it away.

[jprzybyla]

Joe, you are creating some remarkably beautiful images. Thanks for sharing and thank you for providing background information. It makes the viewing more enjoyable for me.

Hello Chuck, thank you for viewing and your comment. So are you creating remarkably beautiful images, the most recent with the moose and mountains in the background. I looked at it and thought... Wow! I do not think I commented I was distracted by something at home and never got back to it.