Capturing the Blue Heron (cropped from the original image)
I've been trying to get a decent shot of a great blue heron for years, but have been unsuccessful--until today.
At lunch time I decided to drive down the Eastwood Metropark, part of Dayton, Ohio's extensive park system, only a few miles from my workplace.
As I approached the turn off to the park, I saw a blue heron flying perpendicularly to the direction I was driving and I silently wished that I'd been in a position to get a photo of it. After I made my turn and followed the road to the part of the park that I wanted to go to, I realized that I was following the heron's line of flight until the view of it was blocked by tree branches.
I parked and gathered up my camera and keys, and started walking towards the bank of the waterway near the docks and the kayak launching point, and there was a Great Blue Heron standing on a broken part of the wall that reinforced the bank! I quietly moved to the right and rounded the restroom building to sneak up on the bird's right side so I hopefully wouldn't spook it.
I took shots using my 75-300 mm zoom lens for the next 20 minutes, before it flew away, and my phone reminded me that I needed to head back to work. It was the best lunch break I've had in a long time, even though I didn't have anything to eat.
BTW, I wasn't standing in the water to get this shot. The waterway winds, so the wall curves, to the viewer's right, putting me far enough out that I could get this capture.
@haskar Thanks for the compliment. It was just so cool that I'd wished that I could get a picture of the heron, and then, a half mile down the road, there he was!
June 17th, 2022
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