Great Blue Heron

Birding at a Lake in the City

I like going to this lake in the city because there are Red-necked Grebes here, but today there were a few surprises. The lake has a walkway around it and houses surround this, with a lot of the people putting up birdhouses and feeders in their yards which makes this a bird-friendly zone. It was a lovely day sunny and cloudy, but quite the glare off the water.

Another photographer and birder alerted me to this fledged magpie which is the first that I have seen. I think the term begins with “L”.

I decided to walk around this small lake and saw many sights and many feathered families.

Saw some brief displays, with the pair calling loudly , coming together and stretching their necks up with crests raised then swimming away.

At one curve in the lake a pelican circled and landed. No time to check my settings, i tried panning as it landed.

it happened too quick , there was nothing I could do about the sign but keep following.

Happy about that, a short way further along the path I saw a large bird coming into view. Not id-ing it yet, I tried to focus on it.

A great Blue heron! What a treat! It landed near the pelican and stayed to fish.

The damsel flies were prolific so got my first shot of the season.

She is a beautiful blue. Speaking of blue, there were many blue ribbons on posts all around the lake , paying tribute to fallen officer Const Daniel Woodall. His funeral is tomorrow, so I will be present at the procession.

June 16, 2015 | Categories: birds, Photo Blog | Tags: Alberta, birds, black-billed magpies, blue ribbon, breeding, Canada, Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM, Canon Rebel XS, Great Blue Heron, Red-necked Grebes, White Pelican | 3 Comments

I went to Elk Island National Park today and saw two special birds. First the great Blue Heron. It was fishing on the shoreline of Astotin Lake and I tried three times in different spots to get close. It was very overcast and somewhat dark, I had my ISO up to 400 and sometimes used manual mode sometimes AV and some times TV-wanted to make sure that i got some photos.On some of the photos the colours were all grey and all the pixilation was concetrated in the middle of the hologram. That is ironic because I am studying about light and grey cards. Some are cropped some are not. Enjoy!