![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/great-blue-heron-3361-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"great-blue-heron-3361-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\nThese two herons looked identical to me, until they took off.<\/p>\n
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1\/4000, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n Both birds were perched on a creek edge and within a few feet of each other in the mountains yesterday morning. I had the clearest look at this one so I trained my lens in it and hoped it would take off. It obliged me in that regard but I was disappointed that it was looking slightly away from me as it launched.<\/p>\n Notice that, to my eye at least, this bird has no significant molting going in in its flight feathers. This species has a very complex molt cycle but it appears to me that its flight feathers are complete at the moment and in pretty good shape.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/4000, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n That bird’s buddy, perhaps 10-15′ to the right of where the first bird had been perched, waited less than thirty seconds before it took off and followed the other heron. Again I was disappointed, this time by all the clutter in front of the bird, but I still think the photo is interesting for a reason you’ve probably already noticed.<\/p>\n Just look how ratty many of this bird’s flight feathers are. In contrast to the previous heron this bird is in the midst of a substantial molt. I remember that when I first started photographing birds I thought if I found a molting bird it meant that all other birds of the same species in that area must be molting too. There are too many variables to go into here but that’s not necessarily the case.<\/p>\n I got some other shots I like of both birds in flight but for now I’ll focus on one more photo of this “ratty” heron.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/8000, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n Four frames later in the burst I got this shot of the heron in flight with the eroded creek bed in the background.<\/p>\n Personally I think this is a pretty neat shot for several reasons but one of them jumps out at me. Can you guess what grabs my eye in particular? Keep in mind that I can be a little quirky when it comes to my photos…<\/p>\n Just look how symmetrical this bird’s molt pattern is. I happened to time this shot just right so we can see through the “molt gaps” in both wings to the eroded creek bed behind the bird. Most bird species (there are exceptions – penguins and some others) molt their flight feathers symmetrically and gradually so they can more easily maintain balance in flight.<\/p>\n Anyway, timing this shot as I did tickles me so I decided to include it. At this stage of my life I’m probably easily tickled.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" These two herons looked identical to me, until they took off.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/great-blue-heron-3380-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"great-blue-heron-3380-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/great-blue-heron-3384b-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"great-blue-heron-3384b-ron-dudley\\"")
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