Birders? GBH? tomorrow? help...

Ill be going out before sunrise to shoot some heron at a wildlife refuge tomorrow...The great egret and the GBH frequent a lil pad pond to fish several times a day. I play to park my car put a brown sheet over myself and my tripod with a hold cut out to fit my 70-200 through...Im thinking blinds here gentleman as I dont have a lot of reach.

My only questions are about how intelligent they appear to be? will they suspect. The GBH last time let me walk till about 20ft casually...so i figure cut that in half at least with a slow moving blanket man...

My ACTUAL plan is to arrive way before they waken and SIT as long as i need to RIght next to the waters edge (near some thicket) and hope for a close landing

any suggestions comments

wallybud wrote in post #5467885
Ill be going out before sunrise to shoot some heron at a wildlife refuge tomorrow...The great egret and the GBH frequent a lil pad pond to fish several times a day. I play to park my car put a brown sheet over myself and my tripod with a hold cut out to fit my 70-200 through...Im thinking blinds here gentleman as I dont have a lot of reach.

My only questions are about how intelligent they appear to be? will they suspect. The GBH last time let me walk till about 20ft casually...so i figure cut that in half at least with a slow moving blanket man...

My ACTUAL plan is to arrive way before they waken and SIT as long as i need to RIght next to the waters edge (near some thicket) and hope for a close landing

any suggestions comments

Hot coffee or chocolate and something to sit on. It might be a long and cold wait. Good luck.

Depends on the bird. Some don't mind to let you come very close while others get spooked easily and fly off. 200mm will be short even with the blind.

Walt, sorry I missed making this on time. I guess you've already been on your stake out by now. I hope it was successful.

200mm is a bit short for the setting you described but since the birds you're after are large you should do fine. I like close-up tack sharp shots as much as the next guy/gal but many times the surroundings make the shot special, so wider can be better.

I've found the Herons to be both nervous and tolerant. It really depends on the bird and how exposed they are to human traffic. I've been as close as 5 feet away from a Great Blue and I've had trouble getting 50 feet away as well.

Your plan to arrive very early is a great one. The light's better and when the birds arrive you'll have a better chance that they will wade in your direction. Be sure to make all movement with the camera slow and try to time your moves when the bird is distracted by fishing, preening etc. When choosing your set up spot make sure your background is plesing and of course that the light direction works. Also see about lowering your tripod or even sitting or laying on the ground for some water level shots.

As an inexpensive alternative(not as cheap as a brown sheet however) to your blind, Bass Pro Shop has camo sheets of fabic for $25. That's what I use and it works great.

NH

Well I squatted without moving for 2 straight hoursgot there are 543 (at sunrise and setup in about 5 min) ...4 GBH flew over head at least twice and a single later on...none came down...I think because my car was parkd 30 feet to my left they wouldnt land...theres no where else to park as its a wildlife refuge and the are no stoping or standing signs everywhere... Oh well what a morning though...at least 10 bird species id never seen before were photographed as well as extreme upclose shots (3 feet away) of the black and white warbler building a nest (also shot of him in the nest)
Ill be posting everything in the bird section tomorrow after pp...

thanks for the comments. its the thought that counts =)