Posts Tagged ‘great blue heron’

Oct
17
2010

Fox and heron at the Great Swamp

A red fox at the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge pounces on prey.

I headed off to the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge this morning. I thought with the cool morning air and water still being warm there mist be some nice mist shots as the sun came up. If they were there, I didn’t find them.

A red fox at the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge.

I was driving down a small gravel road and saw a red fox in the road about 1/4 mile ahead of me. As I got closer, it went into the trees but I couldn’t see it anymore. I creeped away and saw it in my mirror, so I turned around and slowly drove back toward it. It didn’t mind me being there as long as I kept my distance, so I followed it for a while. It stopped a few times and I took pictures through my windshield. It stopped and looked at something in the grass. The fox hunched down and got ready to pounce and then it jumped through the air and landed on a vole. It brought the tasty breakfast back to the road, gobbled it down and then walked toward me as I shot more pictures through the windshield. The fox walked right past me on the road that is barely wide enough for two cars. It didn’t even look up to see what I was doing, it just went back to where I first saw it and headed back into the trees.

A great blue heron stalks prey in the grass of a pond at the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in New Jersey.

My favorite bird is the Great Blue Heron. They are pretty and they make me smile when they walk. They are pretty skittish, I haven’t found a way to sneak up on one, but if I see one working the shore of a pond, I know if I stay still, it may walk right in front of me. This morning I saw one sitting on a small log in a pond. I pulled my Jeep off the edge of the road and the bird stayed put. I sat there for over an hour taking pictures of the heron on the log and then walking through the grass. When it was in the reeds it would peek through while looking for some breakfast.

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Jun
06
2010

What’s good: Foxes and heron

Fox kits cross a field in Hillsborough, NJ

It looked like there would be some nasty thunderstorms late this afternoon, so I hopped in the Jeep and headed out. I was driving along the South Branch of the Raritan River and saw a Great Blue Heron on the opposite bank. I pulled over and as I climbed down the bank, the bird flew farther down the river. Then he walked out on a log in the river at a bend and posed from some shots. The storm didn’t really happen, there was a short rain and some clouds, but they cleared. I started to head for home and noticed something running in a plowed field. It was red tail fox kits and they were casually crossing the open field.

A Great Blue Heron fishes in the South Branch of the Raritan River.

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May
28
2010

What’s good: Herons on high

Great Blue Herons in their nest near Bennington, Vermont

It has been a couple of months, but I was finally able to get back to our home in Woodstock, Vermont. As I was driving, I was looking at a swamp just north of Bennington in hopes of seeing a moose. I swear the Vermont state tourism department is in charge of putting up Moose Crossing signs, because I’ve seen dozens of signs but no moose near them. But I’m always looking. As I was scanning the swamp I saw there was a small Great Blue Heron rookery. There were about a dozen nests and all of them seemed to have birds in them. The road was up high and the swamp was about 75 feet lower than the road. The closest tree with a nest was at the same height as me. I could see right into the nest and there were two or three younguns and a parent. It is pretty unusual to be able to photograph into the nest of a heron without going to extreme effort to get up high.

Young Great Blue Herons in their nest.

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May
07
2010

What’s good: Gomer and great blue heron

Great Blue Heron at Duke Island Park, Bridgewater, NJ

I went to a local county park this morning for sunrise to see what might be good. I walked along the Raritan River on a paved path, the sun was streaming in through the trees and hitting the river in a few places, but nothing hit me. So I walked back to a pond that was near where I parked. There were several pairs of Canada geese with goslings when I initially walked by but the area was in the shade, so I passed them by.

As I approached the pond, there was an old gomer wearing Bermuda shorts in 52 degree weather and carrying a small camera. I saw that he was trying to take pictures of a great blue heron at the edge of the pond. Gomer was trying to sneak up on the heron to get close enough to take a picture with his point-and-shoot camera. Hey Gomer, herons aren’t blind and you can’t walk up to them. I knew he was soon going to blow any chance I had to photograph the bird. Sure enough, the heron took flight but only went to the other side of the pond.

There is a bench by the pond, so I had a seat so I could be still and let the goslings come close. Gomer walked around the pond and sure enough he was trying to sneak up on the heron again. Heron’s will give you about 150 feet and then they are gone. That isn’t nearly close enough to get any kind of decent picture with the camera Gomer was using. Having taken lots of heron photos, I guessed the bird would either leave or come back where it originally was. So I sat extremely still on the bench waiting to see where Gomer would chase the bird.

Luckily the heron flew back to my side of the pond, right where it was earlier. I was there on the bench fairly close and he didn’t care. Fortunately, Gomer gave up and I got some nice shots. The heron stood in the exact same spot for 45 minutes while I photographed him.  Most of the time it stood on one leg and preened. Finally I had to leave and the heron was still there as I got in my car.

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