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nitsch — Immature Grey Heron In Flight

Published: 2006-09-24 10:33:21 +0000 UTC; Views: 1432; Favourites: 37; Downloads: 14
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Description Here we have a young Grey Heron which has yet to develop into it's adult plumage flying low over my favourite wild flower meadow. Enjoy!


Grey Heron - Ardea cinerea
Length 90-98cm

A familiar large, long-legged wetland bird. Adult has dagger-like, yellow bill and black crest of feathers. Head, neck and underparts otherwise whitish except for black streaks on front of neck and breast. Back and wings blue-grey. In flight, wings are broad and rounded with black flight feathers; employs slow, flapping wingbeats and holds neck folded in hunched 's' shape close to body. Juvenile similar to adult but markings less distinct and plumage more grubby in appearance. Often seen standing motionless for hours on end on long, yellow legs, sometimes with neck hunched up. Will occasionally actively stalk prey which comprise mainly amphibians and fish, especially eels. Call a harsh and distinctive 'frank'. Nests in loose colonies mainly in trees but sometimes in reedbeds. Favours river margins, lakes and marshes for feeding but sometimes seen on coasts in winter. Breeds commonly throughout Britain and Ireland but absent from smaller offshore islands and Shetland Islands.
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Comments: 48

dana-martinez [2008-01-14 16:50:03 +0000 UTC]

Dang. Nice.

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dana-martinez [2007-08-15 17:59:20 +0000 UTC]

Stunning capture...

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nitsch In reply to dana-martinez [2007-08-16 20:05:39 +0000 UTC]

Thanks!

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dana-martinez In reply to nitsch [2007-08-17 12:17:26 +0000 UTC]

Very welcome

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LadyLaryssa [2007-03-14 19:18:12 +0000 UTC]

Love the in-flight capture!

~~ SL

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nitsch In reply to LadyLaryssa [2007-03-14 21:17:12 +0000 UTC]

Thanks so much!

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LadyLaryssa In reply to nitsch [2007-03-18 06:43:38 +0000 UTC]

^_~

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wildpaintings [2007-01-14 17:13:11 +0000 UTC]

What a fantastic capture, beautiful

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nitsch In reply to wildpaintings [2007-01-14 21:05:47 +0000 UTC]

Thank you very much!

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kozmix [2007-01-11 00:42:43 +0000 UTC]

beautiful capture!

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nitsch In reply to kozmix [2007-01-11 16:50:08 +0000 UTC]

Thank you very much!

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george-kay [2007-01-03 14:31:03 +0000 UTC]

Amazing shot

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nitsch In reply to george-kay [2007-01-07 21:11:59 +0000 UTC]

Cheers!

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george-kay In reply to nitsch [2007-01-07 22:12:30 +0000 UTC]

You're welcome

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UnUnPentium115 [2006-10-01 10:38:45 +0000 UTC]

wow.. amazing!!
These birds have such a huge wingspan...

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nitsch In reply to UnUnPentium115 [2006-10-01 14:04:17 +0000 UTC]

Cheers! Yes their wings are pretty big!

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CoupeKid [2006-09-28 18:18:44 +0000 UTC]

superb!
I know how difficult it is to capture a shot of these fellas, so good work!

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nitsch In reply to CoupeKid [2006-09-30 14:21:40 +0000 UTC]

Thanks Ben!

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SherylLaBouchardiere [2006-09-25 12:44:29 +0000 UTC]

They are big. One flew quite low over Waitrose last year and for a second I thought it was a Terradactyl

Very nice capture

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nitsch In reply to SherylLaBouchardiere [2006-09-25 21:04:01 +0000 UTC]

Hehe! You're lucky it didn't swoop down and carry you off then!

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SherylLaBouchardiere In reply to nitsch [2006-09-26 08:37:11 +0000 UTC]

I was!

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Caveni [2006-09-25 11:58:30 +0000 UTC]

Oh my. Excellent timing!

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nitsch In reply to Caveni [2006-09-25 21:03:10 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

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Zholt [2006-09-24 21:02:30 +0000 UTC]

Awesome shot
Look at the size of those wings, I never noticed how big the heron's wings are!
These young herons are funny, their feathers look dirty all the time hehehe ^_^

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nitsch In reply to Zholt [2006-09-24 22:08:32 +0000 UTC]

Thanks Zholt! Yep they are pretty big, in fact they are the largest european heron.

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Saoih [2006-09-24 20:47:14 +0000 UTC]

Mon Dieu!!! I've always wanted to see a capture of a heron in flight. Their wings are magnificent! Such beautiful creatures. Do you use a telephoto lens to get shots like this? I've been thinking of photographing birds and such from my area, and I think I need a telephoto lens and perhaps to be sure my shutter speed is really fast so I can get a sharp picture.

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nitsch In reply to Saoih [2006-09-24 22:03:33 +0000 UTC]

They are indeed beautiful birds! Yes, I primarily use an image stabilized telephoto lens for my bird shots and try and keep my shutterspeed above 1/1000th second, sometimes I use a slightly slower shutterspeed if I want to capture more of the movement of the bird rather than freezing the whole scene. Good luck with your shooting!

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fat-pie [2006-09-24 20:39:21 +0000 UTC]

Awesome

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nitsch In reply to fat-pie [2006-09-24 21:58:51 +0000 UTC]

Thanks!

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fraughtuk [2006-09-24 19:45:32 +0000 UTC]

Nice angle on the bird Bro! Nice and crisp as always!

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nitsch In reply to fraughtuk [2006-09-24 21:58:40 +0000 UTC]

Cheers G!

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DeniseSoden [2006-09-24 16:52:26 +0000 UTC]

Great capture

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nitsch In reply to DeniseSoden [2006-09-24 21:58:33 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

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Dickie67 [2006-09-24 16:50:05 +0000 UTC]

superb shot!

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nitsch In reply to Dickie67 [2006-09-24 21:58:16 +0000 UTC]

Cheers Dickie!

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FLuKee [2006-09-24 16:40:16 +0000 UTC]

gorgeous capture! they look kinda clumsy in that plummage

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nitsch In reply to FLuKee [2006-09-24 21:58:02 +0000 UTC]

Thanks Thierry! I agree they look a bit scruffy!

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Shull [2006-09-24 16:36:11 +0000 UTC]

what kind of camera do you use?

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nitsch In reply to Shull [2006-09-24 21:57:26 +0000 UTC]

Hi Shull, I'm currently using a Canon 30D and this shot was with the 100-400 probably at 400mm or thereabouts.

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Shull In reply to nitsch [2006-09-25 04:56:47 +0000 UTC]

ok thanks. I just had to ask because I think your pictures are wonderful ^^

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BlueFlamedPhoenix [2006-09-24 14:15:03 +0000 UTC]

WINGS!!!

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nitsch In reply to BlueFlamedPhoenix [2006-09-24 21:56:36 +0000 UTC]

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lapoall [2006-09-24 11:58:37 +0000 UTC]

Really impressive
Alberto

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nitsch In reply to lapoall [2006-09-24 21:56:28 +0000 UTC]

Cheers Alberto!

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THEDOC4 [2006-09-24 11:55:53 +0000 UTC]

Excellent shot!!!!

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nitsch In reply to THEDOC4 [2006-09-24 21:56:16 +0000 UTC]

Thanks David!

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THEDOC4 In reply to nitsch [2006-09-25 15:06:12 +0000 UTC]

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nitsch In reply to THEDOC4 [2006-09-25 21:05:59 +0000 UTC]

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