![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/black-crowned-night-heron-9428-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\nSometimes grab shots actually turn out well.<\/p>\n
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1\/5000, f\/6.3, ISO 400, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n Yesterday morning in Box Elder County I took many photos I like of this Black-crowned Night Heron while he was perched on a tiny island of stubby reeds in the middle of a pond. Eventually ‘he’ became comfortable with my presence and started hunting for prey. I thought he was fishing but his prey turned out to be aquatic insects. I kept waiting for him to take off so I could get flight shots but it didn’t happen so after spending 21 minutes with him and taking 389 photos I gave up and began stowing my gear to leave the area.<\/p>\n I’m sure you saw this coming – that’s when he decided to take off. I quickly raised my lens, poked it out the window, and got 11 shots of him in flight before he passed in front of my pickup and landed on the other side of the road. He was really too close for flight shots so I cut off a lot of body parts but I managed to get several photos I like with no clipping or amputations. These are two of them.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/5000, f\/6.3, ISO 400, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n I think I like this one best, even though it’s just a tiny bit less sharp than the previous photo. Normally I’d allow more room in the frame for the bird but I was so close I didn’t have that room for this series.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Yesterday I learned (once again) that I can have a lot of fun in the field with birds that don’t cooperate. Frustration doesn’t always mean aggravation, especially when some of the species and behaviors involved are unusual for me. Just seeing them, and trying for decent photos, can be entertaining, rewarding, educational and skill-building and the mediocre photos I get can at least document what I’ve seen.<\/p>\n Sometimes that’s enough for me. I hope it is for my readers too because you’ll likely be seeing some of those photos soon.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sometimes grab shots actually turn out well. (2 photos)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/black-crowned-night-heron-9430-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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