It was a lone White Faced Heron that caught my eye first on the Pauahatanui Inlet yesterday. It seemed so small against the big sky and hillside backdrop. It was pottering alone minding its own business paddling in the warm sunshine looking for something tasty to eat. At first we had no idea what this bird was but thank goodness for our book on New Zealand birds at home to help with the identification.
This bird is no small bird though. It stands up to 70cm tall. The fact that its legs were in the water makes it look a lot shorter than it really is.
Even with my telephoto lens I wanted to get in for a closer look so crept down onto the shingle and rock and was rewarded with a closer view. Just look how long that bill is!
You get to see the sheer size of this bird when it takes off for flight – with wings expanded out to full stretch it is massive. Far bigger than I imagined and so very graceful.
It was great to be able to capture this bird in flight. My aim is now to capture the bird of prey that circles over our back garden on a regular basis. That will certainly one I’ll prize if I manage to snap it at close quarters.The big difference to snapping this bird compared to the seagull last weekend was that I now have a long lens back in action.
Oh photography bliss. To be able to capture snaps like this is giving me real hope for what’s to come with the new camera. If only the sun could continue to shine like this every day!