I am a firm believer that sometimes we establish a trust connection with our subjects. This particular Great blue heron was approximately 50ft from where I was standing and surprisingly it slowly walked in my direction occasionally stoping to scan the tall grass for prey. It continued walking towards me until it was within 12ft of my position, at this point I had sat down on the ground and proceeded to photograph its approach. I spent the better part of 4hs with this bird as it hunted within a 12ft radius of my position completely unfazed by my presence. During that period it allowed me to swap out my teleconverter, replace batteries, adjust my position etc without it flinching. In total it captured half a dozen voles and a couple of mice during my interaction with it and posed a few times for a portrait. I finally had to leave, I slowly got up and walked away, looking back it continued to hunt but I walked away in a sense of wonder, it was an interaction I will never forget.
I've had a few of those kinds of experiences, and they are just amazing. I walk away feeling like my feet aren't touching the ground. The fact that they are opportunities for great photos is almost an afterthought, but you definitely took advantage. #1 and #5 are my favorites, but they are all fine images.
I'm thinking that these birds look intimidating when viewed from the ground 12ft away! How great of an experience. I wonder somehow if you helped with the hunt?
That would be a sweet experience! The images are just wonderful YGMV
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YGMV