Making a Tree a Home

[NorthernFocus]

For the past few days when I've ridden past by this particular spot on my bike, a great blue heron(GBH) has been in the top of a tall pine tree.

1)



2) But yesterday afternoon as I was approaching the same location I saw a GBH on the wing and quickly stopped to try to grab a BIF shot or two. To my pleasant surprise when locked the bird in my viewfinder I could see it was carrying a branch in its beak.



3) It flew into the top of the same tree where I'd been seeing a bird the past few days.



4) As I tracked the action of the bird landing I noticed its mate waiting in the tree. The branch was handed off almost immediately upon landing.



5)


6) After the handoff, the material delivery bird tried to catch a few minutes of rest.



7) But the mate quickly began squawking and sent him back to work.

[Wavelength]

What a great series.... but you will keep everybody waiting ..to know more of this story!!!

[bje07]

Beautiful story, nice pictures.
For my understanding what does BIF mean?

[NorthernFocus]

Thanks, guys.

...For my understanding what does BIF mean?

BIF= bird in flight

[Wavelength]

Did you have to adjust the sky to such an attractive blue or blessed with one ?

[madcrow]

Awesome series, narrative, with great detail and sharpness. A joy to look at.

[NorthernFocus]

Did you have to adjust the sky to such an attractive blue or blessed with one ?

On this day it came as a blessing. As did the whole episode. I patrolled the entire area where I've been shooting recently and found nothing. On my way home ran across this at just the moment to catch my attention. When so guided it is wise to follow

[Geoff F]

Once again, perfect photographs.

[Mike Buckley]

Such a fabulous story told so well by the combination of your narrative and photos!

[bnnrcn]

Very nice story and images Dan

[lovelife65]

WOW, Fantastic Dan! Those birds are so beautiful. Seen a few out in the Valley, have yet to capture them. Very nice!
#3 especially is unique in seeing the physical beauty of the bird.

[Dave A]

What a great set that tells a story. Quality photos Dan.

Dave

[NorthernFocus]

Glad you folks enjoyed the post. You may have noticed the stick looks different in some of the shots. I observed the building activity for an hour or so during which the bird made five or six trips to the ground to gather building material. I used "artistic license" creating the post with a mix of shots from the various trips back to the nest.

According to Cornell Lab of Ornithology it is the male bird that collects the sticks. This one was diving straight down to the ground close under the nest site. I was able to observe him much of the time. He was very selective about picking the perfect stick each time. He would pick up and discard several sticks before deciding on the right one to carry back to his mate. Fortunately for me from a photography standpoint, his route back to the nest involved flying in a fairly large circle in order to gain altitude to return to the nest which was 30-40ft(9-12m) up in the tree. This gave me time to prepare to capture the landing and interaction between the birds.

Normally a plain blue sky is less than optimal as a BG. However in this case I thought it worked well with the tree and did not distract attention from the action of the birds. I was able to choose a position with the sun perfectly behind me which is why the sky looks so blue, as if a CPL was used. Notice the second image(the BIF) was shot at a different angle and the sky is not as blue even though the same WB was manually chosen for all shots. This demonstrates why CPL filters work better when the sun is at an angle and do nothing when the sun is straight behind. The sharper the angle to the sun, the more reflected light from airborne particulates/moisture(i.e.haze) which is what the CPL removes to restore a dark blue sky.

[Dave Humphries]

For the past few days when I've ridden past by this particular spot on my bike ...

I hope this means we stand a fair chance of following the 'happy couple' and hopefully, their offspring, in future weeks?

Great shots as usual;
Dave

[Craigie]

Dan, a wonderful set images ,once again.

[NorthernFocus]

I hope this means we stand a fair chance of following the 'happy couple' and hopefully, their offspring, in future weeks?...

For sure I'll be keeping an eye on them, Dave. But doubt I'll be around for delivery day. We're only here for three more weeks and they're just now nest building. Not sure what their incubation period is but I suspect it's beyond our timeframe.

[Dave Humphries]

For sure I'll be keeping an eye on them, Dave. But doubt I'll be around for delivery day. We're only here for three more weeks and they're just now nest building. Not sure what their incubation period is but I suspect it's beyond our timeframe.

Ah yes, I did wonder about that

[LePetomane]

Very nice.

[John 2]

Another great series with a great bedtime story to go with it - which is where I'm going now.

[Urbanflyer]

I see these birds all the time here in Washington. You have captured them beautifully!! Thanks for sharing!