The Periscope.

[dankearl]

The strangest bird on the planet I think, and I see a lot of them where I live.
The American Bittern or Reptile!

1/1000, f7.1, iso400, 600mm, D800, HH

DSC_2489bp.jpg

[Marina Scarr]

Quite a unique perspective and capture, Dan. I just brought the image into PS and gave it a tighter crop which I quite like. I cropped off the bottom up to the body, some off of the top and put the bird squarely in the middle of the frame. I then did a multiply layer at 20% to lower the brightness just a tad. Either way, I like it a lot and nice to see it in its habitat.

[Nancy Bell]

This is a great bird's-eye view of the bird's eyes! I really like how it is poking it's head out of the grasses. With your position and the clean lighting you captured excellent details & colors on the bird. I like how the foreground grasses are also in focus. Outstanding image.

[David Salem]

Cool Image. Exposed well and very sharp. Classic Bittern hangout. Good Job

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the eye contact, sharpness and setting. Well done Dan.

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

They do know how to blend in. I like Marina's idea about cropping above the oof part of the body as it seems to bring more attention to the face.

[Don Nelson]

Nicely done, Dan.
I love watching these birds sway like reeds in the wind....even when the wind isn't blowing!

[Satish Ranadive]

Excellent image of bittern in habitat with very nice IQ. Love the eyes,colors and pose.

Regards,
Satish.

[Robert Holguin]

Very nice shot.
Excellent detials. I really like the pose and the habitat.
Well done.

[Karl Egressy]

Nice habitat shot, Dan.

[Daniel Cadieux]

These birds are indeed odd, and what I like best about them is their strange song! I love this image Dan, very cool perspective and the surrounding grasses are very cool. I too like Marina's crop suggestion, but I could certainly live with what you've presented too. Did you get any when the bittern is "blushing"?