James Markus Offline Upload & Sell: Off
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I went back to that lake where I saw no birds today looking for birds. As soon as I got out of the car I could see a Great Blue Heron across one end of the lake. I went to a tree near the lake edge to shoot what I could see, and to use the tree as a lens support. I slowly walked the lake edge, which has 10-15' high Sumac's, towards the Heron. Natural vistas would occur, and I would get a few more frames from the closer vantage points. I knew he was watching me. I haven't been birding in many many years, and last time I had - I had a 500mm f4 afs + 1.7xTC which I almost fell because of neuropathy in my feet made me unsteady. It prompted me to sell the lens - not wanting it to meet such terrible end of me falling down. This time I had a ridiculous combo of the 400mm f5.6 and the modified TC-16A on the D7200. A handheld 960mm effective focal length that felt like a tube of wrapping paper which I doubted I could hold still. As I walked I noticed dozens of the Sumacs were snapped off in their crowns, then a shadow flew over me. It was an Osprey coming to see who was in his territory, and then I knew who broke the Sumac's.
I spooked a female RWBB or Grosbeak, saw one Chickadee darting off, and three tiny duck hens as I crossed a bridge. My estimate of where the Heron was located was spot on, and I was leaning left and right looking for his head and neck. Just as our eyes locked from about 25 feet away - a mans voice, right behind me, said;"what are you looking for". I turned and saw a 74 year old man (Cal) in an electric wheelchair - then whipped around to see the Heron had jumped into the air from the man's voice. I shot the Heron for a minute then answered Cal, and visited a while. So, I think I have solved the missing RRBB mystery. These photos are in chronological order, sorry about the length of this post, and they certainly don't meet Jose's standard.
Edited on Aug 25, 2022 at 12:15 PM · View previous versions
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