newbie here

[Dave Humphries]

I know that frustration. I ha a hawk sitting on a fencepost wait while I parked up the car and got my camera ready, then flew away as soon as the window started to go down.

and the moral is ... always take a shot through the window first
it won't be worth showing, but at least you have something!

and Dave is right, the Herons in Bushey Park (near London) are far more tolerant than those on the Thames in the Windsor to Maidenhead area.

[Geoff F]

I get similar problems with insect close ups; take the first shot from 3 ft before attempting to close in to 1 ft.