A trip to Bear River MBR yesterday morning resulted in a single photo that strikes my fancy.
1/2500, f/7.1, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
This may be a classic pose for a cormorant but I rarely if ever get such a good look at the dorsal feather groups of any species of heron.
It may look like some kind of displaying behavior but it isn’t. The heron had actually just landed after a very short flight of less than 10′ from one spot on the riverbank to another. The cold wind was blowing fairly hard which I believe contributed to both the difficulty of the maneuver and to the amount of flaring of the wings and tail immediately after landing.
I was just lucky to get a head turn that allowed us to see the heron’s face and eye (I believe this bird was looking at two other herons out of frame to the left.)
I’m not particularly fond of the messy phragmites so close to the bird in the background and elsewhere but I’m almost mesmerized by how well the dorsal feather groups are displayed in good light. We can clearly differentiate each of the following groups and more:
- wing secondaries
- wing primaries
- greater secondary coverts
- median secondary coverts
- lesser secondary coverts
- greater primary coverts
- alulae
- scapulars
- tail feathers
- upper tail coverts
I’ve photographed this and similar poses in other birds of course but I think the distinctive color patterns inherent in Great Blue Herons enhance and help to distinguish the feather groups from each other unusually well.
It’s one thing to see all these feather groups beautifully illustrated in a painting or drawing in a field guide by someone like David Sibley but in my view it’s even better to see them clearly differentiated on a living, breathing bird.
Even Sibley might agree.
Ron
Just WOW!
Thanks, Melanie.
Best display of GBH feathers that I’ve seen. Excellent capture. Thanks for the detailed explanation!
Thanks very much, Steve.
Wow. Just. Wow.
I’ve spent some time with GBHs and I’ve never seen anything like this landing pose. You’ve made my day!
Glad to hear it, Marty. Thank you.
I have never seen that. Fantastic!
I’m glad you like it, Jean.
WOW! I’m in awe.
Thank you, Phoebe.
Truly amazing.
Awe and wonder (which is a pretty damn good way to start my day). Particularly after I had to wrestle with the PC before it would allow me to see your post (or anything else).
In other news. We did (finally get some rain yesterday. It helped but the nearby fires are not out. Diminished I hope and trust but not out.
Thanks, EC. I hope to hell they’re more than just “diminished” a little!
Hope more rain is to come that will REALLY put them out! Saw on the news somewhere that some rain had come…… YES!
❤️
Hi Ron:
Spectacular image! Thanks.
On a completely different note, a while back you had posted about Canon discontinuing the 7D MII camera. At the time, I had no information about that (or other cameras to suggest), but in January I attended the Imaging USA convention, where I always hang out in the Canon Professional Services lounge and get my gear cleaned by the CPS folks. I asked the senior reps about the 7D, and they stated that they are aware of the rumors (since no new version has been announced), but were emphatic that no decision has been made to discontinue the camera. Apparently they are still discussing options. They also mentioned that there may be new versions of the D90 that would make it even more similar to the 7D MII. I mentioned to them that a lot of wildlife photographers, bird photographers in particular, rely on the minimum 10fps shooting speed (as I recall, for you and many others, that was a deal breaker) – they heard me! I gave them the name of your blog so they can check out your work for themselves. I stressed that almost every serious wildlife photographer I know uses the 7D MII.
I don’t know if anything will come of it, but I suspect that if a LOT of bird/wildlife photographers hammer them with requests for a 7D MIII, or at least to not discontinue the MII, they might pay attention if they know that they already have a built-in market. I already put my pitch in, but if your readers and any other wildlife folks out there do the same, maybe we can get somewhere…..
Thanks,
Roberta
“they heard me!”
I’m delighted to hear that, Roberta. Several months ago I sent Canon a long email expressing my concerns about them discontinuing the 7DII line and then having the 1D X Mark III be only 20 megapixels.
Regrettably I never heard back from Canon but I still hope I helped to plant or nurture a seed…
A stunning photo Ron. And the yes, the living breathing colorful bird beats one of David Sibley’s drawings any day. I thought right away that it was a landing shot because I have seen them do that so often. You have educated me by listing these ten feather groups. Not something that I could do. The more I look at this the more I like the phragmites. Makes for such a natural looking picture. Beautiful.
Everett, this time of year the dead phrags can be attractive or unattractive in our images, depending on several variables. Some folks never like to see them because most phrags are invasive.
MAGNIFICENT !! Not only an anatomist’s dream, but wholly beautiful as well !
Thank you, Chris.
Wow! Stunning detail! Thanks!
Thanks, Pam.
BEAUTIFUL!!! 🙂 Great pose and the detail on the dorsal feathers groups/individual feathers is amazing…. Grinning ear to ear this morning.. 🙂 Doesn’t appear to be a lot of snow there given the “dump” you had the other day……
Our snow is mostly gone and has been for a while, Judy. It’s been too warm for it to stick around for long.
Very cool photo! I rarely see these Blue Heron doing more than feeding and roosting.
In your photo I notice a little feather from the back of the head. Is this standard with herons?
Good morning, neighbor!
Great Blue Herons and some other herons have occipital head plumes, the feather on the back of the head you mention. Those plumes are shorter in immature herons and absent in juveniles.
Absolutely astounding! You certainly don’t see a display like this very often. I especially like the colors differences shown and those wispy body feathers. What a great capture and what a learning tool! A great day for you.
I’m glad you appreciate it, Kathy. I doubt everyone will, after all the phrags aren’t very attractive. But I don’t think the aesthetics of the image are its primary strength.