Heron on Watch

As we did some off-road exploring on a recent camping trip, we came across this great heron.  It’s not often that I get to watch one for this long!

Heron at Rest

This was our first view of this lovely guy.  He was sort of surveying the shoreline looking for…….I don’t know!

Heron on Rio Chama

So, now he’s checking out what’s going on along the river, and he seems a bit interested in something along the opposite shores.

Heron Take Off

This is the second time on this trip that I was able to capture a bird at the moment of takeoff.  I love the symmetry of his wings and his legs……and the shadow is pretty cool, too!

Low Flying Heron

Here he is, flying amazingly low and still checking out the opposite shoreline.  What’s incredible is that he’s so close to the water, if he had to flap his wings, they would hit the water.  He knows he can make this crossing without one single flap – cool!

Enjoy!



The Birds of Puerto Egas – Santiago Island – Galapagos Islands

 

There were a number of different types of birds on Santiago Island, some that we’d seen before, and others new…..and one that fell in love with my camera!

Giant Heron Up Close

Yes, I know I included a number of images of Giant Herons before, but this one was just so striking I had to include it!  The morning sun lit him so wonderfully, and I love how clear his eye is.

8739 – American Oystercatcher

I’m not certain why this little guy is called an American Oystercatcher instead of a Galapagos Oystercatcher, but, oh, well!  He was very intent on searching for his meal, altho I hadn’t heard that there were actually oysters around!  I loved his orange beak and the orange circle around his eye.

Galapagos Flycatcher

And, now we have this little guy.  He was actually a bit of a distance from me when I captured this shot.  I’m not certain what he saw with my camera lens, but…..

Approaching Camera

…he really seemed to focus on my camera (no pun intended!) and started to make a bee-line for me.

Loves the Camera

He’s actually getting so close to the camera, it’s having a hard time focusing on him.  His eyes are very intense, aren’t they?

Up Close

And here he’s right up at my lens.  He never actually touched it, tho.  Did he see a reflection of light, or of himself and he thought it was another bird, or something else?  I have no idea, but he did it to other cameras as well – maybe he just loves cameras!

Enjoy!