Saturday, April 16, 2011

The Rookery

Last month I noticed some flashes of white at the rookery shared by herons and egrets.
 The herons are first to take up residence but they are hard to spot from a distance.
 Once I knew they were in residence I drove to a church parking lot and walked across some fields to get close enough.
 Not too close, though, I don't want them to abandon this rookery as they did an earlier one.  (A golf course had been built under that rookery.)
 There was a lot of activity, birds were coming
 and birds were leaving.
 They were flying off,
off to do their bird jobs.
I didn't get a chance to share these before we headed out on our trip so better late than never.  You can enlarge these for a better view of the action.

I'm linking this to Bird Photography Weekly, you might like to check it out to see what other birders are doing.

17 comments:

Sylvia K said...

These are so AWESOME, Martha! Really took my breath away!! And even more fantastic when enlarged! Superb captures! You do get better by the day -- and you were great to start with! Have lovely evening and a wonderful tomorrow -- with camera in hand!!

Sylvia

Gaelyn said...

I knew herons are community nesters, but not with the egrets. Great shots of the rookery. I think these long-legged birds look comical landing in the tops of trees.

mick said...

Great photos - especially all the birds in flight. The white egrets look beautiful against the blue sky.

giorno26 ¸¸.•*¨*•. said...

Ehy !
Grandiose immagini !!!!
Buona giornata :)
Myriam

Anonymous said...

I would be so excited to see so many heron and egret in one place! Great job at picture taking!

Unknown said...

Good shots and an exciting sight, Martha. Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

Wow, great shots. It looks like they need a an air traffic controller to keep track of all the comings and goings.

Barb said...

What a magical spot to watch the birds, Martha! Your action flight shots are wonderful. The egret's ruffled wing span is very beautiful.

NatureFootstep said...

you did get some great shots. Both speices are so good to watch. :)

clairz said...

Absolutely wonderful photos, Martha, and I love the part about "bird jobs."

Kelly said...

...fantastic series! I love the "comings and goings" of a rookery...there's always something interesting.

BirdingMaine said...

Wonderful series of photos! Love the in flight shots.

Judy said...

Wow!! Someday, I hope to see a heron rookery for myself! I have admired photos that you and others have posted, and just been in awe of the whole experience!

Janie said...

Great action shots from the rookery!

Larry said...

Great post Martha and excellent shots of all the birds coming and going. The in-flight photos are marvelous!

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Better late than never for certain! I would hate to have missed these. We had a great blue heron rookery on our regular walking path when we lived in Oregon, but it blew down one year. Made me sad.

Linda Reeder said...

Oh, wonderful!!! We should check our local heron rookery. We don't have the egrets though.