great blue heron

All posts tagged great blue heron

Sometimes a wrong turn is the best

Posted by Photonstopper on March 25, 2012
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment
Photo: Heron Rookery in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Photo by James Guilford.

Heron rookery in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

We were trying to make our way from Point A to Point B this afternoon when, somehow, I missed a turn. We wound up traveling south instead of north — pretty easy to do on unfamiliar roads and under overcast skies — and traveled quite a distance from where we wanted to be. We also didn’t spring for the navigation package for the Honda Insight; I don’t regret that, however. Since we had no schedule there was no pressure so, as we realized the mistake, we simply turned and headed north, carefree. As we drove we began to recognize some names of crossroads and knew that some would take us into the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and toward Peninsula. As we progressed along Bath Road we saw a group of people gathered along the side of the road, several of them crossing the road to stand along a fence; they were all looking at the trees. Oh yes! It’s the Heron rookery! Of course we stopped. I happened to have my little old Canon Digital Rebel XT with me so I shot photos as we watched the Great Blue Herons gliding down to the fields and lofting back up to the trees with twigs and branches. A birder I spoke with said the herons were nesting early this year because of the warmer weather. We were very lucky to happen across the scene and stood and enjoyed the activity for some time before continuing our trip. Sometimes a wrong turn is the best.

Photo: Great Blue Heron settling in on a treetop. Photo by James Guilford.

Great Blue Heron settles in on a treetop during nest building.

Life and death, death and life

Posted by Photonstopper on June 21, 2011
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 2 Comments
Photo: Great Blue Heron catches a fish. Photo by James Guilford.

A Great Blue Heron with a fish it has speared with its lower beak.

I’d taken the day off in order to deliver Tasha to animal hospital for iodine 131 treatment … a cure for hyperthyroidism. Yesterday I received a call from the hospital informing me of their need to postpone admission. It seems there is a shortage of iodine 131. Without the treatment, and because of her apparent sensitivity to methimazole, Tasha would remain untreated until the rescheduled date for the procedure; her thyroid levels might return to their formerly dangerous highs. So I decided to take advantage of my scheduled day off. I would pick up a prescription of methimazole gel for trans-dermal dosing (less trouble for Tasha) at the compounding pharmacy which has very limited mid-afternoon hours. My morning was open so I headed to Hinckley Lake for the first time this season or even this year. It was a comfortable but hazy morning with thin to moderate overcast as I began my little hike along the lake. On the walk “out” I saw no large wading birds at all –unusual, I think– but was content to look around at the quiet beauty of the area. Low rumbles of thunder began but seemed to be to the north and west of me. As the skies darkened I felt I’d better turn around and so began a somewhat faster walk back around the lake. As I approached one of my favorite spots for finding herons I did, indeed, spy one. It was wading slowly through the shallows, apparently looking to spook a fish and find a meal; that’s just what happened. The Great Blue Heron struck lightning-fast and hauled a writhing fish from the muddy waters. The big bird had speared the fish with its lower beak. It held its prey aloft for a bit, lowered it into the water briefly, and repositioned the fish so it was head-first in its mouth. Then it lifted its head high and in a few gulps swallowed the fish. In less than a minute it was all over. The fish was gone and the heron was again wading slowly through the muddy waters, seeking another meal. It’s the way of nature: life and death, death and life.

Rewards of the day

Posted by Photonstopper on October 17, 2010
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 6 Comments
Photo: Great Egret near Lake Erie. Photo by James Guilford.

A Great Egret feeds in the shallow waters of Sheldon Marsh State Nature Preserve.

Too beautiful a day to spend indoors yet not motivated enough to ride our bicycles, we took a trip by car instead. This time we traveled to the Sheldon Marsh wildlife area, just west of Huron, Ohio. It’s a spit of land that juts out into Lake Erie and, as such, is a seasonal way station for migrating birds making north-south lake transits. We saw few birds today but the few we saw offered a big surprise. I was pretty sure the large wading birds native to this area –Great Egrets and Great Blue Herons– had headed south; I’d seen none in weeks. Today we were rewarded with sightings and photo-ops involving likely three Great Blues and two Great Egrets all within a short walk of the roadway. I was a bit disappointed that the majority of my “grab shots” of herons in flight were in poor focus; they looked so good in the viewfinder. A couple of images, however, nearly made up for the bad ones. Many other nature scenes from Sheldon Marsh and nearby Old Woman Creek were also very beautiful. The ODNR’s visitor center at Old Woman Creek, by the way, is quite impressive. Photography aside, simply seeing great Lake Erie again and being out in the fresh air and sunshine of a fine autumn day were wonderful rewards in themselves.

Photo: Great Blue Heron flies directly overhead. Photo by James Guilford.

Surprise! A Great Blue Heron flies directly overhead after rising unexpectedly over a line of trees.

Start and finish

Posted by Photonstopper on September 20, 2010
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 3 Comments
Photo: First color of autumn trees stands brilliantly illuminated against dark, clouded sky. Photo by James Guilford.

First color of autumn trees stands brilliantly illuminated against dark, clouded sky.

I may not have the most beautiful or interesting commuter route to follow in my daily routine but it does have much to offer. This morning I was treated to trees, many of them with early fall color, brilliantly illuminated by morning sun against a dark, cloudy sky. I stopped in the outskirts of Stongsville to snap a few photos on my way to work. This evening, traveling home via the Cleveland Metropark’s Parkway, I caught a glimpse of a Great Egret I’ve been wanting to photograph. It seemed closer to the shore of Wallace Lake than normal. I swung into a parking space and hiked a short distance to the waters’ edge. My Canon PowerShot G11 is a terrific little camera but didn’t have enough telephoto power to capture the image I wanted but I got something. In fact, I noticed in the distance behind the big white bird, there was also a big gray bird… a Great Blue Heron. I moved closer but, each in its turn, the birds flew off before I could get in good range. Not bad: beautiful scenes at the start and finish!

Photo: Two birds fishing at Wallace Lake. Photo by James Guilford.

A Great Egret and a Great Blue Heron have neighboring fishing spots at waters' edge in Wallace Lake.

Surprising morning

Posted by Photonstopper on August 6, 2010
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
What?! #1751
What?! #1751

Fridays off with not much to do are a good thing. I did not plan to go to Hinckley Lake this morning but the day began too pleasantly to spend much time indoors. I tossed the camera bag in the trunk and headed out. I stopped along the way to watch and photograph turkey vultures, perched on bare tree branches, warming themselves in the early rays of the sun. At the lake, I set off to see what birds {herons} I might see. Checking their favorite haunts from the lakeside trail, I was richly rewarded. In one of those favorite spots, I crept towards the water and peered around the lakeside vegitation. There, a literal stone's throw away, was a Great Blue Heron standing still as a statue. We regarded each other cautiously and I squeezed off a few shutter clicks. The bird was nervous. I was being attacked by mosquitoes. Not a good combination for a photo session. Off flew the great bird but not before I made my catch of the day! There were other beautiful scenes to be enjoyed and recorded as I hiked around the lake. None, however, matched the close encounter with one truly great bird. It was a surprising morning.

Outta Here! #1753
Outta Here! #1753

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Don’t turn your back!

Posted by Photonstopper on July 22, 2010
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , . 2 Comments

When working with nature, don't turn your back… not even for a second! This morning I was strolling to the back of my car to stow camera gear for a quick pre-work visit to Hinckley Lake. As I cleared the corner of the garage I spotted, directly across the drive, a doe deer and three tiny spotted fawn. They froze, uncertain whether to flee and in what direction. Carrying my camera bag, I slowly opened the back of the car, turned and placed my bag inside, withdrew my camera, changed lenses, fired up the camera, and turned back to photograph the scene. Gone! In the space of 30 seconds or less the whitetail family had silently fled the scene to the relative safety of a nearby wooded area. I felt bad about it until I realized my camera lens had completely fogged over and was useless — it had come out from a cool storage area into a warm and muggy world. Ready or not, I'd have missed the shot. {sigh}

Sneaky Heron #1625
Sneaky Heron #1625

I climbed into the car and headed to the lake. Strangely, though Hinckley Lake is a favorite fishery for Great Blue Herons, I saw none. I can usually count on seeing several in the early morning hours when the lake is quiet and human fishermen are scarce. Eventually one of the big birds descended from a tree and alighted in a favorite fishing area, a bit distant for my purposes but at last I was seeing a heron! I watched the bird as it stood still, waded a bit, and stood still even longer. Eventually it jabbed the water with its spear-like beak and produced a minnow which it promptly swallowed. Again it stood. And stood. Tired of staring I examined my more immediate surroundings. Two brilliant yellow flowers –cone flowers– were lit beautifully in the morning sun with a deep green grassy background that made them really stand out. I focused and shot a couple of images. Nice. I turned to see what the heron was doing only to discover that it had silently taken to the air and was already more than 100 feet away and flying close to the water. I'd wanted to at least see and photograph that takeoff and missed it entirely because I'd turned my back for half a minute again.

Repeating, the lesson for the day: Don't turn your back.
 

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

They’re blue, alright!

Posted by Photonstopper on June 18, 2010
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , . 4 Comments
Blue Heron #1384
Blue Heron #1384

I knew it was a Great BLUE Heron but I had no idea! I had the day off due to working all day last Sunday. The day dawned sunny with heavy dew and a bit of haze, perfect for a little nature hike. As I walked a trail at Hinckley Lake, I spooked a heron fishing near the shore. It took flight and, camera at the ready, I squeezed off a series of shots. Examining the images later I was impressed at just how blue the bird looked in the shadow. The reason? It is illuminated almost entirely by light scattered down from the clear blue sky overhead. The next image, recorded less than a second later, shows us a bird of a feather more like what we are used to seeing: blue-gray.

Heron #1385
Heron #1385

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Fishing in the Falls

Posted by Photonstopper on June 18, 2010
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , . 2 Comments
Falls Heron #4832
Falls Heron #4832

Before Thursday morning, I had never seen a Great Blue Heron fishing in rushing waters. Herons usually frequent the shallows of quiet lakes and streams. They wade slowly along and watch for fish to scatter from around their feet then stab at them with their sharp beaks. This bird stood still, one eye on the photographer, one apparently watching for fish, as river water cascaded over smooth rocks. I'd a little extra time on the way to work and, seeking calm, stopped at one of my favorite natural spots. The heron was a total surprise.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Good morning

Posted by Photonstopper on April 28, 2010
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 8 Comments
The day dawned clear and bright. We were blessed yesterday and again this morning with achingly beautiful cloudless expanses. I had the morning off –I must work tonight– so after seeing off She Who Must Be Obeyed, I headed to Hinckley Lake.

How could I stay indoors?

The woods were full of bird songs. Leaf litter is broken now with signs of new life, and old life reasserting itself with fresh green. Tiny trees make their bid for a spot of sunlight.

Great Blue Herons have returned to again fish the lake while ducks and geese, seemingly having never left, thrash about on the smooth waters. Meanwhile, at the lake's margins, wet-footed plants lap up sunlight preparing to bloom.

It was a good morning.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend