Tag: heronphotography

One of the many morning birding surprises: the green heron

May

2021

So on my walk at Boomer Lake today I managed to spot the ‘secretive’ green heron.

The green heron is a migratory bird that spends its summers in Oklahoma, and we’re lucky enough that there is usually a mating pair in town. Due to the start of the pandemic last year, I didn’t get in many walks at Boomer Lake during the summertime so I missed trying to get a picture of them last year.

A little closer view of the heron, and spotted a grackle and a few red-eared sliders as well.

I wasn’t expecting to see the green heron this morning–mainly because I was out ‘late’ (i.e. well after dawn), and usually these birds are roosting/hunting in the brush around the lake edges.

I was passing the area of the lake, that a birding expert refers to as ‘heron cove’ and noticed the green heron perched on a branch over the water cleaning its feathers.

I tried to move down the hill quietly so that I could possibly get a closer picture, and while I did get a little closer–I’m not sure if the pictures give it justice or not.

Within the picture series, I also noticed that I managed to get a picture of several red-eared sliders and a grackle. I’m thnking that I may try to explore a little more of the wooded areas around the lake to see if I can possibly spot the black-crowned night heron again, and possibly even the belted kingfisher. As all three of these birds are usually more ‘morning’ birds (best seen usually close to dawn), though I have managed to spot them later in the morning.

Bird watching and photography are two of the things I enjoy doing during nice weather. What hobbies do you enjoy doing durin ghte nice weather?

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Happy World Migratory Bird Day!! Though it is really every day…..

May

2021

So today is World Migratory Bird Day–at least in the US and Canada. It is celebrated on the second Saturday in May, though if you live in Mexico, the Caribbean, Central or South America it is celebrated on the second Saturday in October.

I decided to look through all the pictures that I have taken over the past two years (give or take six months) and make a collage of all the migratory birds that have passed through the central part of Oklahoma.

So far I have managed to spot 28 different birds.

Those birds include (going from top left to bottom right):

The great (or common) egret, the ruby-throated hummingbird, the yellow-rump warbler, the eastern kingbird, the green heron, the western kingbird, the turkey vulture, and the scissor-tailed flycatcher.

The blue-winged teal, the bufflehead, the black-crowned night heron, the Baltimore oriole, the white-crowned sparrow, and the Mississippi kite.

The laughing gull, the yellow warbler, the purple martin, the spotted sandpiper, the canvasback, the dark-eyed junco, and the white pelican.

The double-crested cormorant, the cedar waxwing, the common loon, the osprey, the ring-billed gull, the northern shoveler, and the sharp-shinned hawk.

Plus the one that I somehow forgot to add to the collage: the cliff swallow.

So, technically then the number of migratory species seen is actually at 29.

Several of these birds already have their own page under the bird tab, and those that don’t will be getting their pages added throughout the year.

I’ve decided that a goal for the late spring/summer season is to see how many other songbirds I can spot at Boomer Lake, and a goal for the fall/winter is to get up there earlier in the day and see how many other duck species I can spot that are only stopping briefly during their migration to their winter grounds.

Did you know that the Oklahoma state bird is only present in the state during late spring to early fall? Do you know what the state bird of Oklahoma is (hint–it’s within the collage)?

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Photography Challenge Day 3: The Great Blue Heron on the hunt

Apr

2021

So the winner of today’s photography challenge is a familiar bird–it’s the great blue heron.

This was one of the first birds that I made a page for under the birds, birds, and more birds section of the blog. This is also one of my constant photography ‘targets’ when I’m walking at Boomer Lake. I may not always see one–but I’m always on the look out for one.

Great Blue Heron starting to stretch out its neck

I’m always on the lookout for great blue herons at Boomer Lake for a couple of reasons: 1) there are several that fed/hunt at the lake, at one point I think I counted six different birds; 2) they’re usually in different areas of the lake–therefore different ‘poses’ are possible; and 3) they’re just majestic birds that I like to photograph.

I saw this one in the brush in one of the little ‘coves’ of the lake as I was walking across the bridge. I noticed that it was walking slowly around the edge of the ‘cove’ and looking down–so it was looking for something that was bigger than the minnows that were probably swimming around its legs.

Great blue heron stretching its neck and looking forward

While it stretched its neck out like it was going to strike and grab something–it never did, it just walked around, stopped and waited–probably for me to leave it alone to hunt in peace.

The great blue heron will probably show up several times throughout the photography challenge–especially as we move into summer and I manage to get at least a weekly walk in at Boomer Lake. My hope is that I manage to get enough pictures of them in different areas of the lake, that I don’t feel like it is the same ‘bird’ constantly–even if it may be the same heron a time or two.

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Winner for Day 2 photography challenge: black-crowned night heron

Apr

2021

So the entry winner for today’s photography challenge is the black-crowned night heron.

Black-crowned Night Heron spotted at Boomer Lake

I actually have a birding page already dedicated to the black-crowned night heron, and can semi cross of the photography goal that I had set–which was to try to get another picture of the heron, but within the continental US (since the only other time I’d seen the heron, I had been in Hilo, Hawaii).

I was pretty shocked when I realized that I’d managed to get a picture of one during the day light hours (usually they’re roosting within trees/shrubs, though they may be active during the day light hours during the breeding season).

The black-crowned night heron actually migrates and/or breeds within Oklahoma, so I may actually be able to spot it again this summer (if it decides to stay and breed–and since I saw it during the day I’m going to guess that it may be breeding in the area), or possibly in the fall when it migrates back through.

The goal is semi-crossed off, because I managed to get a decent picture–the goal will be totally crossed off, if I can get a ‘closer’ picture, and while I did have my longer lens for my camera with me, I didn’t have the tripod with me that particular morning.

So, currently I rank this picture right up there with the great horned owl and white pelican pictures I got last year, as one that I’m ost proud of getting. It will be interesting to see what other birding pictures I can get this year, once I’ve gotten my vaccine.

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Final Heron and Egret pages are now live.

Dec

2020

So over the weekend I managed to get the last four pages (to date) up for the herons and egrets.

This also means that I’ve managed to get pages posted for all birds from the order Pelecaniformes that I’ve gotten pictures of outdoors.

Great Egret peering into the water shortly after dawn at Boomer Lake.

The final four bird pages that were posted this weekend covered the Great (or Common) Egret, the Little Blue Heron, the Tricolored Heron, and the Reddish Egret.

Little Blue Heron walking through the brush at the birding and nature center, South Padre Island TX

Out of these four–I’ve only seen the Great Egret in two locations (South Padre Island & Boomer Lake in Stillwater OK). The other three have been spotted solely down in Texas during a summer vacation years ago.

Reddish Egret in the bay at the birding and nature center in South Padre Island TX

So there are still several members of the Ardeidae family that I haven’t spotted and would like to get a picture of and they include: the American bittern, the Least bittern, the snowy egret, the cattle egret, and the yellow-crowned night heron.

Tricolored Heron in the bay at the birding and nature center in South Padre Island TX

In terms of the Pelecaniformes order, there are in total ~110 species around the world and I’ve seen 12 of them–which means I’ve seen/spotted roughly ten percent of the order in the wild. Goal will be to get that percentage up to twenty-five to thirty percent (which means spotting another sixteen to twenty-one species in the wild).

Moving forward, my goal is to publish two to three bird pages a week, in addition to at least one blog post announcing which pages are up as well.

The next set of birding pages to be added will cover the woodpeckers (and there will be two new pages in addition to the pages on the order & family), then on to the hawks, eagles, and kite group (with quite a few additional pages added), and finishing up with the hummingbirds (currently will pages for the order and family).

Once I’ve gotten caught up those pages, I will start working though a master list I’ve created of all birds (seen within the US and currently the UK) I’ve gotten pictures of in the wild.

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The two ‘stocky’ heron (green & black-crowned) pages are live

Dec

2020

So, two more bird pages are now live in the birding section of the blog (birds, birds, and birds).

I’m slowly making my way through the other family members of the heron, egret, and bittern family (Ardeidae) that I have taken pictures of in the wild.

The two pages that I’ve posted today are of the ‘stockier’ herons: the green heron and the black-crowned night heron.

I managed to get several pictures of the green heron last summer at Boomer Lake, and I was happy with how I managed to progress from just getting a partial picture of a green heron to actually getting a picture of one in flight during a very foggy morning.

Green heron in flight on a very foggy morning at Boomer Lake.

I haven’t seen a night heron since my trip to Hawaii back in 2009; but in all honesty, I had no idea that they migrated through Oklahoma. I think it would be super cool to spot one within the lower forty-eight states–though that may mean being in a slightly more tropical part (such as California, Florida, or along the Texas coast) where they are around all year.

Young black-crowned night heron peaking through the coconut fronds

The other ‘stocky’ members that I would like to get a picture of are the yellow-crowned night heron (which is mainly found in the eastern part of the US, though it does summer in OK), and the bitterns (both American and Least), but these two birds are even more secretive than the green heron.

Have you gotten a picture of a bittern? If you have–how long did it take to get a good picture?

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Photography Challenge Day 10–Great Blue Heron in a Tree

Oct

2020

So the winner of today’s photography challenge is the great blue heron. Usually these birds are wading in the lake, or perched on logs waiting for their prey—occasionally though, you can get a picture of one perched in a tree.

Now I almost missed seeing this one—if I hadn’t been looking for the songbird that flew into the upper branches of the tree on the other side, I would never have noticed the heron perched on the branch.

I managed to also see another couple of herons on the short walk, and as I was heading back home—this guy/gal was still sitting in the tree, obviously waiting for a fish or something to swim around so it could have a morning snack.

The heron was still there as I headed home.

These guys are year round residents in the area, and they actually nest in trees, though I have yet to find the area where I would be seeing the nests—I think I know the area, but I’m not up to going that far back into slightly swampy areas just to try to get a picture or two.

They are considered to be symbols of wisdom, good luck, and patience in numerous different cultures. I like to think that when I see them on the walk—they’re reminding me to be patient working towards my transition into either industry or freelancing. I have strengths to lean into, and in terms of my weaknesses—I can work to improve them, or I can find someone who has those as strengths and ask for a helping hand.

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Photography Challenge Day 204 & 205: The Green Heron is still around

Sep

2019

So the winner of the next double photography challenge is the green heron. This one (or these two) haven’t started their migration south yet, though they should be heading off within the next couple of weeks. Green herons migrate south anywhere from the end of August through October.

Well–we’re a little over halfway through September, so there is basically now six weeks until Halloween. I’m hoping to possibly get a few more pictures of them this fall before they head south, since I never seem to be able to get good pictures of them in the springtime.

I managed to see them both mornings that I walked at Boomer Lake, though I saw them on opposite sides of the lake. On Saturday, I startled this one, and it flew past me to head into the little cove. Due to the fog, I lost sight of it once I turned around to follow it.

These guys blend right in with the dreary landscape, and if it had sat still and ignored me–I would have completely missed seeing it.

Sunday morning, I saw one of them flying from the little island towards the tall grasses that I had just passed. I knew that there wasn’t going to be any closer pictures this morning. Though I have to wonder where the other one is at–I’ve seen them as a pair this year. Even with the one I startled yesterday–I soon startled it’s mate/friend a few minutes later. I just wasn’t able to get a picture of it.

Though this is one thing that has made me happy this fall–being able to get a couple of good pictures of the green herons.

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Photography Challenge Day 195: The Green Heron (a short post)

Sep

2019

So the winner of today’s photography challenge is the green heron. I actually was able to get a good picture of the green heron as it landed on a tree limb at Boomer Lake.

Green heron sitting on the log at Boomer Lake

These birds are very easy to startle (compared to the great blue heron and great egret), so it was a surprise to see it on my walk—if it hadn’t flown from it’s original spot, I probably would have walked right past it.

Though as it flew past me, I did managed to get a picture–though with the sun coming up, and it being a dark colored bird, it does make for an interesting contrast.

Green heron flying over Boomer Lake at sunrise

Pretty soon, they’re going to start on their trip south to warmer winter areas (the gulf coast, Mexico, and possibly down into Central America). I’m going to have to try to keep an eye out for these guys, and move as slowly and quietly as possible as I’m doing it—so that I don’t scare them off before I’m able to get a good picture of them.

These are yet another species, that I’m going to have to be stealthy in terms of getting close to–or break out the tripod and larger lens for the camera.

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Photography Challenge Day 191: The birds…….

Sep

2019

The winners of today’s photography challenge are the birds. Since today was a holiday (no work, :-)) that meant I had the time to go for another zen walk around Boomer Lake this morning. I managed to get several pictures that I will be sharing this week (in addition to other pictures I managed to get over the weekend).

But today’s picture is of a couple of egrets, some ducks, and a heron (it almost makes me want to think of a bad, corny joke—but I’m currently too tired to do so). Truthfully, I wasn’t expecting the two in the background (the second egret and great blue heron), as I was focused more on the egret and ducks in the foreground.

Closer look at the one egret, and more ducks joined the picture.

As migration season kicks off, the limbs of the different submerged trees become prime spots to both fish from, and just generally sit on—so they’re usually always have something sitting on them—be it egret, heron, or cormorant (and sometimes the terns and gulls).

Currently the cormorants haven’t started migrating though (they should be here within probably two months or so—just as the egrets move further south), so the limbs will be having either egrets or herons sitting on them.

I’m going to have to start keeping a tally record and see who sits on the various branches and logs the most during my walks–the great blue herons or the common egret.

For today–I’d have the say the egrets were on four branches/logs and the herons were on two branches/logs.

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