Hey Y'all,

I went down to the wetlands yesterday morn. I came across a little blue heron who seemed to be occupied with something. Normally little blues are not tolerant of humans and take off as soon as they become aware of you. I drove past it and carefully got out of the car. I made a slow and indirect approach towards it. At one point he it seemed to getting a tad antsy so I sat down on the soggy grass and it settled down again.

Its attention was directed towards the small turtle it had caught.



The little blue was having a difficult time trying to position its catch


I managed to capture a turtle flip for the first time


Right after the little blue managed to swallow the turtle this dude drives up. He stops right by the little blue casting his car's shadow over my subject and he keeps his rather noisy engine running as he tried to swing his 500mm on to the blue. He just about got it on the blue as it took off. He drove on leaving me sitting in the grass with no subject.

Seeing as my butt was already soggy I decided to stay where I was and see if the little blue returned as Ignatz and his noisy car had left. A few minutes later the little blue returned. It had decided I wasn't a threat and he got rather close to me. I had to take my 1.7 TC off my 300mm f/4 as it was so close to me. I spent two hours with it and got around 200 captures.









A few other birds also stopped by and I got a few captures of them. Good ole Ignatz returned after a bit and did his same number as before with the same results. This time the little blue didn't return.

When I was finished shooting I was in the parking lot breaking down my gear. Good ole Ignatz pulled in and struck up a conversation with me. He was shooting with a D3s and the 500mm f/4. He complained about how he drove two hours to get to the wetlands because he had heard how good they were supposed to be but he hadn't managed to get any decent shots.

It always amazes me that someone would invest $15K in his gear but then is unwilling or unable to invest some time in learning how to get the captures.

excellent set of pics him flipping the turtle around great timing enjoyed the set.:)

Great post, and outstanding photos, Harry

Now..THIS is something, Harry!

Love the light/shadows and the content of the subject matter couldn't be much more interesting.

It's these moments that make it all worth it.

Nice set, Harry. First time that I have ever seen a Little Blue Heron with a turtle.....

Originally Posted by dlplumer Great post, and outstanding photos, Harry

This. :)
Loved the pictures, loved the story. And that turtle-flipping capture is just incredible.

Every photo outstanding!

Originally Posted by jackiejay excellent set of pics him flipping the turtle around great timing enjoyed the set.:)

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it.

Fabulous. Bravo. Your patience and skill were rewarded!

Nice captures Harry. Worth getting a soggy butt for them.

[FONT="Century Gothic"][/FONT]These are beautiful pictures.
well done.

greetings,
Korandoke

Nice set of photos, Harry! Love your turtle flip!
Too bad for your interruptions.

not bad for an old guy I hear the same thing I was out and got nothing then you are not looking or having fun
so the flipp is back you had a great day Harry

OK new challenge
HBT Flip....
Great catch.
Not sure what is wrong with my monitor. Images look a bit washed out to me. Guess I gotta go to your place to see it:>)))
Take care

Nice set Harry! Congrats on the flip - loved the story

Originally Posted by dlplumer Great post, and outstanding photos, Harry

Thanks very much Dan.

Originally Posted by Ric Grupe Now..THIS is something, Harry! Love the light/shadows and the content of the subject matter couldn't be much more interesting. It's these moments that make it all worth it.

Thanks Ric. Its always a joy for me to get to spend a good amount of time with an interesting subject. The best part of it that I was able to spend that time with it and not have it responding to my presence.

Originally Posted by IraRunyan Nice set, Harry. First time that I have ever seen a Little Blue Heron with a turtle.....

Thanks Ira. I've seen the larger herons and egrets with tutles before but this was the first time I've seen one of the smaller herons with one.

Nice series Harry, both the images and the exposition.

Leaves me wondering, what happens to the turtles shell - is it dissolved by digestion in the herons GI tract, or not?

Originally Posted by Lindiwe This. :) Loved the pictures, loved the story. And that turtle-flipping capture is just incredible.

Thanks, all birds will flip their catch before they swallow it. I've never seen it with my eyes but I've captured it a number of times by taking sequence captures after the bird makes it catch.