I think it is some kind of night heron. I was hoping to get alot of photos today as it was less humid and 10 degrees cooler but because of the marshes the bugs especially the green heads were out in large numbers
That's a heron? I typically think of herons as having long necks.. that thing has no neck. Well I looked up the name.. I've found a bunch of waterbirds lacking the typical long neck that I associated with herons. Clearly you know what you're talking about.. I still find it weird.
I believe we have great blues around here. Or rather they're common enough that I see them without going to a wildlife sanctuary. I actually saw one invade my neighbor's back yard.. they have a decorative pond, they were stocking it with fish.. possibly koi, I'm not certain what kind. And some waterbirds had learned that they could get an easy meal by visiting the pond, I saw some sort of Heron walking around eating fish. Apparently they only ate the expensive fish. Unfortunately that family moved away. I'd like to stake out the pond and try to get more herons, I imagine they'd allow me to get close enough to use my 70-200, they have to be somewhat humanized living in an area like this (suburb of Chicago). The house still hasn't really sold, some flippers (people that buy houses, improve them, and then try to sell them for a profit quickly) bought it over a YEAR ago and still haven't managed to sell it, which is not the way to make money in real estate. I doubt they're bothering to stock the pool, they have to be tearing their hair out by this stage trying to figure out how to sell the house. I tell ya, you're just trying to challenge my notions of what's what in the universe. First you show me a short necked heron, then a short necked egret. Next thing you know there'll be a little known short necked giraffe (no bonus points for mentioning okapi, I know that they're close relatives of giraffes, I know this because every time I get a picture of one it's got its tongue up its nose which giraffe do to me as well).
Dan trust me on this. I don't know much about these birds at all. I just got into doing this and got tons to learn. Not only about what species it is but also how to shoot the darn things. I tried to shoot an ibis but they are completely black and I cant seem to nail down an exposure on all black. Thank goodness for digital. Experimenting with film was rather costly here is my best ibis so far.
I'm just joking around. Although I still mean it, you brought something to my attention that I was not aware of before. I don't care if you only knew about it because the bird was wearing a sign that listed its species. It's just that I'm developing a mild interest in taxonomy. I'm interested in what it is that unites specific species and genera and such. I had always figured that long necks were a key part of the identity of herons. And, since you brought it up, egrets. I figured it was a specific adaptation for the whole aquatic way of life. I'm surprised to see short necked species among them. I'm going to guess it's related to their adaptation as ambush predators instead of more active fishers (I only know this because I read up on them in wikipedia). Although I'd still expect a long neck to be useful in such a situation. I can imagine that the Ibis would be problematic. Good luck with them, I imagine a well done shot should be pretty spectacular. You're motivating me to head out to my local bodies of water to try to find some of our local waterbirds. The truth is I'm lacking in focal length, but.. so what, I can still try, and I need the exercise anyway.
I know you were just joking around. I started with a sony f828 taking some birds and had to hope they would be close enough as 200mm wasn't making it but I got a few decent ones with some cropping in. I tried it with a f717 too but that was a waste of time as at the sanctuary here birds very rarely get close enough without using a super zoom the cattle egret was taken with the sony but the opreys were impossible with 200mm as they are way out birds with signs LOL I like that idea as I run into a new one now and then and have no idea what it is
