Bird Balancing Burning Bubble
Magic happens sometimes here on the Bliss Dinosaur Ranch. Here I caught a the Bliss Ranch Gynmastic Training Camp. Here a Great Blue Heron showing off spinning that big burning bubble on the tip of his beak… While standing on his Mates Back . Crowing/Displaying after a little bird whoopee that evening. Even while on a moving tree swaying in the breeze. Talk about balance….👀🤔😜 They are just building that nest. The third guy is a bystander as far as I can tell. I couldn’t see him blush within the rarefied air of this light environment.
With Topography my master, I find getting celestial objects to cooperate lining up with birds is mostly the miss part of a hit or miss situation. To have these huge eagle eyed birds patiently watch me work my way to them. Then tolerate me getting this alignment… Pretty cool …. 😃
Working the Great Blue Herons this time of year is certainly best. The 50 foot tall Cottonwoods have no leaves so capable of concealing nesting but not for another few weeks. Approaching and positioning for this shot in time and space has been a long term goal. Learning to do this in a camera is a task and a half plus getting all the variables to align. Trust me on this…
It just so happens my All Black Ford Raptor (new vehicle) backcountry truck looks enough like an Black Angus to these birds so as not to care so far. I very carefully work up to the nests in a familiar grazing animal gate. The new Ford stops the engine when I stop…perfect for photography. Wait a while, slowly approach, turn to the side, stay there a few minutes, take a few photos, move about 20 feet closer, rinse and repeat. I will gradually work my way over to where these 5×5 birds…. 5 foot tall birds with a 5 foot windspan…. are nesting. I was able to work these guys for 35 minutes as the sun disappeared behind the rising horizon . Forever in my world. 📸📸
Location: Bliss Dinosaur Ranch, Montana/Wyoming borderlands (Wyotana Wetlands).
Title: Bird Balancing Burning Bubble