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After being there for a while and taking several pictures of this heron in its nest, I saw it look up, I guessed it was looking up at its approaching mate, which turns out it was.
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After being there for a while and taking several pictures of this heron in its nest, I saw it look up, I guessed it was looking up at its approaching mate, which turns out it was.

springStaten IslandClove LakesGreat blue heronbirdsnatureheronsNYC

  • Unlike my 70-300mm zoom which Nikon maximized to capture non - nature subjects from about 30ft. in, my 20 year old 300mm ED-IF telephoto, Nikon designed to capture things from very long distances away. At 100 ft. I can still decide if I want to focus sharpest on the fish on the end of a heron's break, or the heron's eye instead. Telephoto's are the sniper rifle of lenses. However mine is also manual focus and capturing birds that dart back and forth with spectacular ease of swallows requires a far better photographer than I. <br /> <br /> However as I spent a good while testing and honing my technique as I captured shots of these social birds in and around the overpass on Martling ave. I noticed off to my right on the other side of the lake about 200 ft from where I was standing, the kind of nature subject Nikon engineers a quarter of a century ago designed this lens to capture. And as soon as I finished capturing the last of these photo's, I quickly packed up my gear and set off to find the perfect spot to give my 300mm it's chance to shine.
  • While I was busy trying my darnedest to capture sharp pictures of those swallows darting in and out of the openings of the overpass on Martlings av, I spotted a great blue heron sitting up in a tree almost directly across from me on the other side of the lake. Now a heron in a tree overlooking the water at Clove lake is nothing surprizing, as the many shots I've taken here of that very thing attest to. However there was something quite unique about this one.<br /> <br /> I saw it land on a branch at least 30 ft off the ground, and that I'd never seen before in the 25 years or so that I've been coming here. Night herons which are much smaller than white or blues, will perch high up on a branch quite often, and even they like to sit on branches close to the water like their bigger cousins, no doubt to make it easy to spot and grab an unsuspecting fish. I figured there was only one reason that one would be up there so high, a nest.
  • DSC_7298 heron's nest
  • After being there for a while and taking several pictures of this heron in its nest, I saw it look up, I guessed it was looking up at its approaching mate, which turns out it was.
  • I messed up guessing where it mate would land on the branch, so I lost the opportunity to capture the two greeting each other. But I did get some nice shots of them placing just the right spot where to place the newest twig papa brought back from his latest trip.
  • DSC_7344 heron's nest
  • DSC_7355 heron's nest
  • I had been watching the nest for over an hour by now, when I finally spotted some of the babies actually pop their heads up. If I was excited just to find the nest, boy did this ever make my day.
  • DSC_7533 heron's nest
  • Well I really hit the jackpot today. Not only had the pair already laid their eggs, but they had hatched, and were big and active enough to photograph. During my time shooting, I was joined at points by two other photographers with equipment far more impressive than mine. The three of us attracted quite a gathering of curious onlookers as you could guess. Several of those who were regulars to the park, said that they have seen this nesting pair here for the past 4 seasons. What a splendid bit of news, and how great for nature lover's here at Clove lake.
  • "De-vine"
  • DSC_7687 pollenator
  • DSC_7707 pollenator
  • DSC_7713 pollenator
  • DSC_7747 pollenator
  • DSC_7745 pollenator
  • DSC_7751 pollenator
  • DSC_7799 pollenator
  • DSC_7806 pollenator
  • DSC_8031 tree frog
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