I went down to the park today for some new bird photos. I only had an hour and then I had to be somewhere else. Fortunately, this park is totally full of birds. All these shots were taken this morning.
1/4000, f/4.8, ISO 640, 200mm
The great blue herons are busy gathering sticks to build their nests. The photo above is my entry for the contest by @nelinoeva. I picked this shot because I liked how ungainly and awkward the bird seemed as it carried a large stick.
The males have the job of gathering the material for the nest. The female handles the actual construction work and she waits in the tree for the male to show up with the lumber.
I managed to fire off a long burst of shots as the male heron flew past... I'll show you a few of the better shots. These large birds somehow manage to be graceful and comical at the same time!
This bird was quite far away and I had to crop the photos a lot. I hope there is enough detail left to see.
At this point, I could hear peacocks calling and a bald eagle whistling. Where should I go next?
The peacocks sounded closer. I rushed over and found three of them. This guy was in the best position for me to photograph.
The peacock seemed to think I had food for him so he ran towards me to see... Sorry buddy, I gotta go look for the eagle!
When I got to the eagle's nest I found I just missed the action. One bird had returned to the nest and the other was leaving. There was a flurry of activity and I only managed to get one shot that was in focus... here you see one of the pair heading out. "You mind the eggs, dear. I gotta hunt!" It flew behind some trees and quickly disappeared into the distance heading towards the ocean.
A large flight of Canada Geese flew in and landed on the pond, honking away like crazy. I really wanted to watch them landing in a V formation but again I missed the moment.
I noticed a lot of the seagulls have paired off. These two were resting beside the pond taking in all the action.
Finally, here are some shots of a male mallard duck flapping his wings.
...and that's all the time I had today. I hope you enjoyed these photos!
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Beautiful shots @keithboone. I love your feathered friends photos. Particularly the eagle. What a majestic bird. Of course the heron is equally as wow. For such an awkward bird manouvering that stick must've been quite a feit!
Thanks so much! The herons are awkward looking when landing or taking off and very graceful in flight. I'm happy you liked the eagle... I wasn't completely happy with that shot as it's not quite sharp. My lens takes a second or two to lock focus precisely and I fired off three shots, the first two being hopelessly out of focus. There has been an eagle's nest in the park for many years but the old one blew down in a windstorm and was rebuilt just a few feet away but it's now in a position where it's very difficult to see.
Being difficult to see probably suits the eagle although I doubt the humans are at all happy :)
Thanks very much, @pixresteemer!
The photos are amazing, you got an excellent shot of the heron with the stick, is it building a nest?
Thank you! Yes, it's carrying a stick for the nest.
Excellent post with outstanding photos. The heron is so funny, but you are right, it is gracefull at the same time.
Thank you very much, @nelinoeva!
Great shots here Sir Keith and that Bald Eagle confused me as I thought that I was looking at one of our African Fish Eagle that looks almost exactly the same.
Bur cannot be, as the fish eagles nest on high cliffs in the mountains.
A lovely post here!
Cheers and !BEER
Thanks so much! I looked at some photos of the African Fish Eagle... what a gorgeous bird. It has a lot more white feathers on the head. Very pretty!
I'm happy you liked my photos. Honestly, the best ones were the ones that got away! I have to go back to the park on a day when I have more time to watch the eagles nest.
Please Google again as it is the Fish Eagle's call that made him famous. One can hear it from miles away and think that he is close by. I just want you hear that call.
Hahaha, I wonder how many of us have missed the real scoop shots that we have seen my friend.
Happens to me regularly.
I would spend at least a day watching that nest 🙂
Cheers and !BEER
I listened to the fish eagle call on Youtube... very interesting and quite different from the bald eagle. Here's the bald eagle for comparison: bald eagle call
Wow! That is certainly an interesting call my friend.
Glad that you heard the Fish Eagle's call and yes, totally different.
Blessings and sorry, my beers have run out.
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You're too kind... thanks so much @lenasveganliving! :-)
Just being honest! Always a pleasure Keith!
Thank you again! :-)
Thanks so much, that's awesome! :-)
That's a lot of busy birds in one hour in a single park great captures 👍
Thank you very much! I've been going there for years and I know where all the good spots are now :-)
Ahhhh.. understand that makes sense 👍
I should also add that all these photos were taken within roughly a 100-yard area! :-)
WOW..It does sound like the park to be at for bird watching 👍
Happy days.Good morning @keithboone. What an amazing park to have all those different birds clustered together. Just wonderful photos.
Thanks very much, @farm-mom! Beacon Hill Park is a jewel here in Victoria. It is 200 acres in size and has fantastic flower gardens and beautiful trees including giant sequoias. In addition to the birds I have shown here, there are many types of ducks and geese as well as owls.
Unfortunately, since the beginning of the covid crisis, homeless encampments have sprung up in the park. The city is working towards finding permanent housing for these people but as I took these photos I was often standing in the middle of tent cities. While I was shooting photos at the heron colony I watched security guards arguing with a camper who had started a campfire. Things just aren't like they used to be...
What a gorgeous place. I can't believe there are peacocks in the park. Awesome. Definitely a photographers paradise. I just took a tour of the park in pictures from the internet, I would love to visit there, for sure.
Thanks for sharing.
I believe there are 40 or more peacocks & peahens and it's fun to watch the babies as well. And oh, the noise they make! They're very loud. :-)
Very cool, I think they a magnificent birds.