Great Blue Heron: York County, Maine, USA, October 2023 — a few more shots of the Great Blue Heron on the Mousam River rapids, posing on a snag in the sun. Such a handsome bird, even when it has an itchy ear. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at 800 and 1600mm equivalent. (2x digital tel-extender for 1600mm shots). Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and assembled in FrameMagic.

Great Blue Heron: York County, Maine, USA, October 2023 — I think this is the last shot from my session with the Great Blue Heron in the Mousam river rapids that I will share for now. Fishing the rapids is a delicate balancing act, as many a fly-fisher who works this stretch of stream, can attest. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at 472mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro. ISO 5000 @ f6.3 @ 1/640th.

Great Blue Heron: York County, Maine, USA, October 2023 — Whoo! That’s cold! The Great Blue Heron in the Mousam River rapids gets in deeper than expected and seems to find the water cold. This is a bird shiver if I ever saw one…and…got to keep those wings dry! OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at 372mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro. ISO 5000 @ f6.3 @ 1/640th. I had not realized until posting these photos how much I used the zoom to frame different shots. One of the reasons I don’t use fixed focal length lenses more. 🙂

Great Blue Heron: York County, Maine, USA, October 2023 — And here is the Heron in mid-stride as it worked its way up the rapids in search of prey. It was taking, as I have mentioned, some kind of small crustacean off the river bed. I suppose it would not have been adverse to a fish if it happened on one. 🙂 OM Systems OM-1 with the ED 100-400mm zoom at 538mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro. ISO 6400 @ f6.3 @ 1/640th.

Great Blue Heron: York County, Maine, USA, October 2023 — Still with the hunting Heron on the Mousam River…I processed and kept just under 50 of the 732 images I took of this bird…so if I share a few of them this week, cut me some slack 🙂 This one shows not only the magnificent wings but some interesting dynamics in the back feathers as the Heron spreads. I assume those back feathers are rooted in the skin above the back muscles that power the wings. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at 698mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro. ISO 5000 @ f6.3 @ 1/640th.

Great Blue Heron: York County, Maine, USA, October 2023 — Along the Mousam River rapids here in town…more shots of the hunting Heron. This time a sequence of an unsuccessful strike. As I watched the Heron was averaging about 1 in 5, and the crayfish or whatever it was taking were not large. Heron hunting is lots of work. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at 488mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro. ISO 6400 @ f6.3 @ 1/640th.

Great Blue Heron: York County, Maine, USA, October 2023 — I found this Great Blue Heron hunting the first rapids past the high tide line on the Mousam River. We spent a good hour together as we moved up-stream slowly, he taking some kind of crustacean from the river-bed, and me taking photos. Way too many photos…though I doubt he would say the same of crustaceans. This shot has a little of everything. Action, detail, dark water, fall foliage. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro.