Herons on their nest

Herons on their nest in a tree. This high placement of the nest is a wise choice, as it is harder for predators to attack the young herons. I liked the obvious division of roles; one parent staying on the nest, the other out to get food, which is about to happen here. Grey herons generally brood on 4 or 5 eggs, of which 2 or 3 will hatch successfully. I shot this scene from quite a distance, hence the lack of detail. I liked the late spring light. Your comments are very welcome.

A nice photo of the gray herons at the nest, in the interesting note you have clearly highlighted the behavior of these herons. In Sardinia, this species is migratory, wintering and summering, but its nesting on the island has never been documented. ciao Giangiorgio

Vincent, very nice work. The flying heron is the highlight. We have some heron nests here too, but I never found them. Kind regards, Franz

Hi Giangiorgio,

 

thank you for your relevant and interesting comments! Maybe you can be the first to document their nesting in Sardinia. Kind regards, Vincent

Hi Franz,

 

thank you very much for your friendly comments! You will find heron nests in May and June along the shores of lakes and rivers, in reeds or trees. If you observe the herons long enough, they will point you to the location of their nest. Kind regards, Vincent

Excellent capture Vincent! I particularly like the separation of the birds and tree from the distant background trees. I had a nest of green herons in one of my oak trees for several years. I had no idea they were there until one day I found a small fish on the ground. What a surprise since the nearest pond was a quarter of a mile away. Warmest regards, Todd

Wonderful image, Vincent. If the order of the following comments seems a bit chaotic, so be it. To begin, although the background vegetation is quite soft, it successfully joins with that in the FG to frame the two birds that comprise its subject. As Franz noted, it contains some dynamism given the bird on top ending its flight. Given their use of the dense foliage to hide their nest, in that sense, it dominates the frame. Finally, I have no doubt that this image is at was directly out of the camera; that's why the colors form a palette that never (or hardly ever) can be generated by means of using a computer filter. - - My best always, michael

Hi Todd,

 

thank you so much for these wonderful and personal comments! I would like a nest of green herons nearby too. Kind regards, Vincent

Hi Michael,

 

firstly, thank you for your continuous support and valuable comments! Your comment about the foliage in the fore- and background is spot-on; the bird on the right was actually taking off, but that's impossible to see. I didn't edit this image too heavily, but I did a few things (cropping, changing the brightness, adding some color vibrance, slight dehazing) to the image before posting. Kind regards, Vincent

Nice work Vincent. Great framing colors and detail. Best regards, Patrick

Hi Patrick,

 

thanks for stopping by and commenting! I'm glad you like the photo. Kind regards, Vincent