Green Heron Fishing

The Green Heron in this shot is on the same perch as the Tri-colored Heron I posted previously - popular place. When I saw the greenie on this perch I wondered how this was going to work - first off it was low tide so the distance to the water was increased and the Green Heron is a much smaller bird than the Tri-colored. Not to worry, a long neck and olympic caliber gymnastic skills saved the day.

In addition to capturing the athletic skills, I also wanted to capture the reaction of the prey. The heron is plunging into a school of Menhaden and as soon as he hits the water, the school will jump in unison. I probably could have used a smaller aperture to get more of the fish focus, but at least I got one or two pretty sharp. The other thing to note is that the heron has closed its nictitating membrane for protection, thus the dull appearance to the eye.

Another wonderful day on the Armand Bayou system - and this is the slow period, can't wait for the action to pick up.

1DX, 300 2.8II, 1/3200. f6.3, ISO 1600
Manual exposure, spot metered, 60% of original, hand held from kayak

Comments and critiques welcomed and greatly appreciated