Post by Ely Teehankee on Dec 21, 2011 2:46:56 GMT
I have discovered a pond where the Black-crowned Night Heron, Yellow Bittern and Little Heron hang out from time to time to try their luck in catching small fish. I have seen the Night Heron chasing away the Bittern and Little Heron to established his territory. But because there is food the smaller birds do come back from time to time. I am hoping that before the year is out I will be able to photograph them at a better angle.
Canon EOS 1D Mark IV, Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM, Gitzo GT3530LS tripod, Wimberley WH200 head. Manual exposure in available light.
The Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) is really a beautiful and large bird. What used to be uncommon is now common. Fishpond owners do not welcome their presence as they eat the fish from their ponds at night. I experienced the same thing when I was trying to grow Apahap fingerlings on the small fish pond in my garden. Unfortunately the BCNH would come during the night and eat them leaving some of them wounded or dead. In short the Apahaps did not survive. It just proves that these birds can see the small fish just as well even at night.
1/320 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
This immature Black-crowned Night Heron reminds me of the story of the Ugly Duckling by Han Christian Anderson. This is how the bird looks like before transforming into a beautiful bird like the one above.
1/320 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
The Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis) is always a delight to photograph. When they see a fish they would stretch their neck to position themselves to strike at the fish. Sometime the stretch of the neck is longer than the length of their body. It would also be nice to see a fish on their bill. Perhaps next time if I see them.
1/2500 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
Here you can see him just starting to stretch his neck to see if there is anything to eat nearby.
1/200 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
The Little Heron behaves similarly. They are perch just above the water and wait for their prey to come near before using their beak to catch the fish by gripping it like using a pair of chopsticks.
1/1000 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
Canon EOS 1D Mark IV, Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM, Gitzo GT3530LS tripod, Wimberley WH200 head. Manual exposure in available light.
The Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) is really a beautiful and large bird. What used to be uncommon is now common. Fishpond owners do not welcome their presence as they eat the fish from their ponds at night. I experienced the same thing when I was trying to grow Apahap fingerlings on the small fish pond in my garden. Unfortunately the BCNH would come during the night and eat them leaving some of them wounded or dead. In short the Apahaps did not survive. It just proves that these birds can see the small fish just as well even at night.
1/320 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
This immature Black-crowned Night Heron reminds me of the story of the Ugly Duckling by Han Christian Anderson. This is how the bird looks like before transforming into a beautiful bird like the one above.
1/320 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
The Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis) is always a delight to photograph. When they see a fish they would stretch their neck to position themselves to strike at the fish. Sometime the stretch of the neck is longer than the length of their body. It would also be nice to see a fish on their bill. Perhaps next time if I see them.
1/2500 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
Here you can see him just starting to stretch his neck to see if there is anything to eat nearby.
1/200 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
The Little Heron behaves similarly. They are perch just above the water and wait for their prey to come near before using their beak to catch the fish by gripping it like using a pair of chopsticks.
1/1000 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
