I woke up at oh-dark-thirty, hoping to head up to Maine to catch some more Ospreys. But the sky was solid cloud cover, and I was not going to drive for 3 hours to take a chance. So I watched TV.
But then the sun finally came out, and I rushed out to a local birding spot, Great Meadows. I had the 400mm and the Better Beamer rigged, hoping to find a Red-Winged Blackbird, one of my favorite subjects for years. They were a bit scarce, and none of them would pose for me.
But then I stumbled upon a Great Blue Heron just off the trail. I almost missed him - because he was too close. Who the heck would think about looking for GBHs within 10 feet? I backed up a little so the lens could autofocus, and took a few portrait shots.
Then he was nice enough to catch a fish for me.
File this next shot under "you learn something new every day", subsection "even when the shot is crap."
I never knew that GBHs have a nictitating membrane.
All told, I was at Great Meadows for 11 minutes. Success that quickly makes the day.
