Great Blue Heron Fly-by
Credit for the sequence of photos below goes to a gentleman named George that I met this morning, who kindly pointed out the flying heron behind me while we were chatting on the other side of the dam. Fortunately, I had enough of time to focus on the heron and track him as he flew towards the footbridge that crosses the Ashuelot River. Luckily, my camera was perfectly setup to track this kind of movement, and most of the shots were in focus.
Ashuelot River Dam Heron in Flight
The planets aligned for me this morning. I had the right combination of good light, scenery, mist, and a camera configured to capture a large bird in flight as a great blue heron sprung into the air from one of the flat rocks at the base of the Ashuelot River dam in Keene. After firing a burst of perfectly focused shots (a first for me) I managed to capture the photo that I have been visualizing since I began my early morning visits to the dam over a week ago. It literally took the patience of a great blue heron to achieve this, and I learned so much about myself and this magnificent heron in doing so.
Great Blue Heron Misty Falls
This morning before work, I had another opportunity to watch a great blue heron hunting in the heavy mist at the base of the Ashuelot River Dam in Keene, New Hampshire. Equipped with a simple 50mm prime lens, I also learned that if you move slowly and get close enough, 50mm is long enough to do wildlife photography.
It probably does not hurt that this particular heron and I do this together almost every morning before I head to work.
Great Blue Heron Wading
Early this morning before work, I had another encounter with the great blue heron that I often find in the area near the Ashuelot River dam. I know this heron well, and he is easy to identify because one of the toes on his left foot is badly deformed. On this occasion, he was fishing near the base of the dam. With the water levels being low right now, it is easy for him to walk up onto the flat stones at the base of the dam and watch for fish coming over the dam.
Some of his moves were made with short flights from one rock to another, really more of a hop than a flight. When taking a burst of photos during these short flights, often one of the photos in the burst appears to show the heron levitating in mid-air.
At one point, the heron puffed up the feathers on top of his head, creating a rather amusing deranged look.
The photo of the day came when the heron landed after one of the short flights, spreading his wings out wide to help balance his landing.
Just before I left for work, the sun appeared and began to cast a beautiful soft light on the heron. I wanted to stay longer, but felt it best to leave the heron alone after spending nearly an hour watching him hunt. The heron seems to tolerate these encounters well, but I am always careful not to push too hard.
Great Blue Heron Fishing at the Dam
This morning I spent over an hour watching a great blue heron fishing in the area around the Ashuelot River Dam in Keene, New Hampshire. My encounter began with a descent down a steep muddy trail to reach the edge of a small swampy area where the large bird was fishing.
After a short while, the heron flew from this spot over to the base of the Ashuelot River dam. After a quick trek to nearest vantage point, I arrived in time to capture my first photo of a heron catching a fish in the turbulent waters at the base of the dam.
I then quickly moved to the other side of the dam, and was eventually able to make my way to a spot down near the water. This proved to be the ideal vantage point, allowing me to capture several exciting shots of the heron fishing in front of the water tumbling off the top of the dam. The compression from my telephoto lens made some of these photos look far more dramatic than real life, but I was very pleased with the effect.
Connecticut River Cormorants
I had another opportunity to boat on the Connecticut River today, this time heading south towards the Vernon dam. The double crested cormorant proved to be the featured bird of the day, as we kept running into them. Fortunately, they put on a good show, taking to the air and skimming across the surface of the river on several occasions.
Great Blue Herons at the Ashuelot River Dam
Early this morning, I felt compelled to visit the Ashuelot River Park before work. I entered the park from the West Street end, and made my way over to the footbridge and dam area where I had seen a great blue heron hunting on several previous visits. Unfortunately on this day, there was no heron near the base of the dam. I crossed back over the footbridge to the main trail and followed it past a small pond that was covered with a thick layer of layer of green. Turning towards the river, I photographed a small green heron across the river downstream from my position, this one sporting his best punk rock hairdo.
After photographing the green heron, I decided to head back to my car. As I neared the footbridge over the river for a second time, part of me wanted to just continue on to my car, but something seemed to be nudging me back over the bridge again. After reaching the other side, it became clear to me why I had that feeling. In one of the usual spots, I found an adult great blue heron hunting on a short peninsula of mud. I photographed the lone heron for about ten minutes before I got a big surprise.
As I was watching the heron without my eye to the camera, a second great blue heron came flying in behind it, passing directly over its head! Upon seeing the second heron, the first immediately took flight and the two of them headed toward the dam and footbridge area. The first heron that I had been watching landed directly on top of the dam and began to stealthily walk along the edge of the dam towards the footbridge. The second heron had landed on the metal railing of the footbridge. Luckily, I was in perfect position almost directly across from the dam to capture the landing of the first heron. Looking at the first photo, you can actually see the blurred wing of the second heron flying in the background, just beyond the right side wing of the heron in the foreground.
I then began a long process of working back to the overlook near the top of the dam. I needed to be very careful, because I was in the line of sight of both of the great blue herons. I moved slowly until both looked away, and then I would dart quickly towards the overlook, using anything in my path for cover. Had anyone observed my movements during this time, I suspect that they may have concluded that I too was a great blue heron.
I eventually reached the overlook and had a great view of the first great blue heron on top of the dam.
Having captured photographs of the first heron, I still had not managed a good shot of the second because of all the wires for the suspension bridge that were between us. Again, I had to slowly move to a position where I could photograph the second great blue heron, which was a much smaller and younger looking bird. I was very fortunate to get off a few shots before both herons flew away, the younger heron flying above the footbridge and the adult flying beneath it.
My only regret is not having any decent photos of the pair flying together, as it was an incredible sight to see. Sadly, the early morning light levels were still far too low for high shutter speeds and my slow zoom lens.