Two Herons And A Grebe

[happy_peasant]

Black-crowned Night Herons are nocturnal birds. By day they hide in the thickest foliage they can find. In this case, a thick willow tree hanging over the pond. Only one minor flaw in their plan though; a shortage of foliage. The first heron sits still and hopes he is well hidden enough. The second one says the heck with it and buries his head in his or her breast feathers. Or maybe it was just trying to keep as dry as possible in the drizzle. In either case, shots will only get harder as the tree leafs out, so I am glad I got these. The fuzzy right side of the second heron is a branch between focus point and camera.
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Meanwhile, back at the harbor, the grebes are taking advantage of the fact that humans don't go out much in the drizzle to swim closer to shore. The bird is a little blurry so I didn't crop as much as I wanted to, but you can tell why they are called Horned Grebes.
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I hate to end on a fuzzy note, so I am sticking in one last shot.
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[Hiroshi]

You sure have a wonderful variety of birds to photograph...I especially like your last shot...it's beautifully sharp and the detail on the feathers is perfect.

Hiroshi

[deterpawson]

hey peasant.......nice shots considering the weather.......liked the colours of that last duck........so vivid....as always you snag some great birdie shots.....well done....pete

[bayourebel]

Very nice shots. Really like the wood duck.

[happy_peasant]

Hiroshi wrote:

You sure have a wonderful variety of birds to photograph...I especially like your last shot...it's beautifully sharp and the detail on the feathers is perfect.

Hiroshi

Thanks Pete and Bayourebel and Hiroshi. I like that duck also. Often I post a shot (like yesterday) and the next day a better one comes along. That is one reason I posted the grebe. I have been trying for a long time to get a nice plumage shot, and between the waves rocking the birds, the birds diving, and the general gloom when they are close to shore, I don't get the shot I want. So, I figured if I post that fuzzy one, next time out I am bound to get an "Oh wow!" photo.

Regarding wonderful variety, besides posted birds I got pictures of Song Sparrows, some other kind of sparrows, a Chickadee, a Phoebe and a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. And another blackbird singing while hunting worms. Oh, and a Double-crested Cormorant. And a female merganser who was mad at me because the other day all I posted were males. I don't want to make folks jealous by saying it was a slow day for birds here, so I won't.

[Mark H]

All nice shots, but the Wood Duck really stands out for sharpness and detail.Beautiful colours on the Grebe too.

Mark

[annie57]

Very nice shots!!!! I especially like the last one!!!

[Beth Ellen]

The second shot he got rather shy. Those Grebes are quite humorous looking!