First Day of Winter Retreat, Birds

[NorthernFocus]

Winter retreat as in we've retreated from winter for a couple of months. We abandoned Alaska for our traditional home on the South Carolina coast. Although I grew up here we moved away long before I got into photography. Back then my only real interest in birds was whether they were edible or not. Today was our first morning here and I took an early walk with a camera. From a photography standpoint it's looking rather promising

1) Reddish Egret (sub-adult)



2) GBH



3) Female Bufflehead



4) Great Egret (I think). Caught him doing "the flip" but it was a tiny fish, he didn't toss it very high, and it's a messy BG.

[GBO25]

Very nice series. I really like the composition of the Great Big Heron with it standing out so nicely against that background and the reflection on the red heron with the couple of strands of reed grass over its head sets that one off nicely as well.

[Sam W]

I like the lighting captured on #1. All are well taken. Enjoy SC!

[madcrow]

What a beautiful series of bird images. #1 is great, #2 outstanding.

[NorthernFocus]

Thanks for commenting, folks. We're staying in walking distance of salt marsh and some fresh water ponds. There's also a roosting area where they congregate in trees to spend the night. So there should be plenty of opportunities over the coming weeks.

...I really like the composition of the Great Big Heron ...

The GBH is the only one that I had any compositional control over. When I first located it the BG was grey sky. By walking a few yards I gave up some distance but was able to get the darker BG. It's not often that we get a chance to manipulate our shots with wildlife. Or at least to do so without disturbing them.

[bje07]

What a beautiful series of bird images. #1 is great, #2 outstanding.

+1.

[Shadowman]

Nice series.

[Otavio]

Great set, Dan. Perfect exposure control in #4, which is difficult to reach with big white birds like the great egret. Very well done!

I wish you a nice season in South Carolina.

PS.: I lived in North Carolina for about 3 months (Greensboro, precisely) and your thread brings me very nice memories from that season, back in 2005, as I visited some beautiful places in South Carolina.

[Wavelength]

Simply great shots.

[bnnrcn]

Very nice set Dan