Green Heron with Bug Bait

[WIlliam Maroldo]

Sony A900~Sony 500 F4 G @700mm /Sony 1.4X teleconverter~ISO 400~F/5.6~1/1250 sec~manual exposure~tripod~Brazos Bend State Park, Texas~6-29-2012~ CS6
Green Herons sometimes, but not by any means always, use bugs as bait to catch fish. Here the bird has such a bug held at the tip of its bill. He always makes sure the bug remains alive and as this bird did shortly afterward, drops it carefully on the waters's surface and waits for a fish to go for it. If he's lucky a sunfish will go for it and the bird has a meal. If it doesn't work, he'll gently pick up the bug , try another location, and repeat the process. Comments and critique welcomed. regards~Bill

[Joel Eade]

Lovely colors and awesome to see the bird on a Lily pad, sharpness is killer...is the Sony 500mm made by Zeiss?

Might wish for a little more canvas on the left but very very nice as presented.

[Kerry Perkins]

Bill, not only an excellent image but a nice bit of education as well. Thank you for both! Excellent pose, detail, and color rendition. The greenie certainly looks intent on the job at hand and this image tells the story quite nicely. Good one!

[Bob Miller]

Bill.....This image looks almost painterly....love the color palette and the sharpness is right on! As has already been pointed out a little more room on the left would be nice....would extra canvas and content aware work?

[WIlliam Maroldo]

Thanks for the comments! Bob, CA fill would work, but I had room on the left and seemed to have cropped , I agree, a bit too much. Joel; the 500 F4 is made by Sony. It has been available in very limited supply for only a few months and is ridiculously expensive. regards~!Bill

[Ronald Zigler]

Wonderful image, great information on the Green Heron.