alloutdoors

Short answer, the head and back are an iridescent green if the light hits them right. Longer answer, birds have a couple ways of producing their colors. Probably everyone is familiar with the idea of pigments, which reflect certain wavelengths which our eyes see as different colors depending on what is reflected. Iridescent colors on the other hand are structural, meaning that the color is produced as a result of how light is refracted by the structure of the feather, specifically by the proteins within the feather. Iridescent colors are highly variable depending on the intensity and angle of the light hitting them. If you've ever watched a male hummingbird on a cloudy day that bright red throat patch will often look black. Even on a sunny day you will see the color appear to change as the bird moves around. Same idea with the herons, under the right light conditions the color can be a bit more intense, but it often appears grey, or blue-grey, or greenish blue. Here's an even more in depth explanation from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://academy.allaboutbirds.org/how-birds-make-colorful-feathers/

Haha, it's not quite that bad. The lens itself is about 8.6lbs, plus a little for the neoprene cover. The entire rig is around 12.5 pounds, a bit more if I throw on a teleconverter. This lens was released in 2012 and is the "Mark II", or second, version. That's the "II" in 600 f4 IS II. The original 600 f4 IS that it replaced weighed close to 12lbs all on its own, nobody handheld that lens for more than a few seconds at a time.

I know, I know, it's hard to believe... but yes... I really am that handsome. But yeah, that's me. I'm not in the habit of slapping my copyright on other peoples photos for one thing.

Hadn't considered that, I'll have to give it a try.

Sure, I've posted it in a few other threads here, but it's a Canon 600mm f4 IS II. Most of what I post here is taken with either the 600 or a Canon 300mm f2.8 IS, and I'll use teleconverters with either lens depending on the situation (the heron photos were taken with just the bare 600mm). It just so happens I grabbed a shot of myself shooting from my kayak the same morning I was photographing the heron.

Finally replaced my old Canon 1DsIII with a Canon 1DX. Huge upgrade in autofocus capabilities and at 12 frames/sec it's more than double the old body. Looking forward to putting it to use during my son's soccer games this fall, and of course on lots of wildlife as well. These aren't the greatest shots with the cluttered background, but they are the first shots with the new camera. Found this little green heron hunting from a tree that had toppled into the creek.

Anyone ever tell you you're not quite right? [emoji1]

Have to agree, I mean, mine just have loons, you've got loons, mountains, trees, clouds, an entire village...

Yes, that's my website.

Yeah, I love hearing them. The second morning the fog was like pea soup but you could hear them singing to each other around the lake. Last night I went down to the beach at around 11pm to shoot star photos and they were calling then as well, they were still at it when I was drifting off to sleep at around midnight.

Spent three nights camping in the Adirondacks near Long Lake. The lake we were on had a decent number of loons, pretty happy with what I was able to come away with. Here's a small selection of images, all shot from a kayak.

Thanks, I really like the woodchuck too, talk about a shot I was definitely not expecting to get from a kayak. I went three miles upstream and then three miles back, and when I came back through he was out sunning himself on his "private beach". He's living the good life for sure. Don't worry about the gear, it's fully insured at replacement value with a reputable company, even against things like dropping it out of a boat.

Kayaked three miles up river and then back this morning scouting out an eagle nest I had heard was on the creek. Found the nest and lots of other things as well. Killdeer were plentiful. Found this woodchuck enjoying his waterfront property. Found the nest in a large cottonwood. There was a fledgling hanging around as well. Noticed a nest of northern flicker chicks on the way back. A spotted sandpiper finished off the trip. The trip log also included numerous great blue herons, green herons, and kingfisher, but they were all apparently feeling camera shy today. Saw several beaver and deer as well, including a pair of twin fawns. I had an adult eagle fly over me while I was pulling the kayak through a shallow section, but wasn't able to get the camera out quick enough for a shot.

Nice job wooly, I really like the hummer shots and I think the flag photos came out great!

Shot these at a local fishing pond on state forest land last night. This site is very remote and offers the darkest skies within a short drive of my house. At about 11:45, shortly before I packed up a truck showed up which at first I assumed was an ECO or maybe a state trooper out doing a night patrol. Turned out it was a younger couple, probably college age, guess they had plans to do some "star gazing" as well... yeah, I'm sure that was it. Fireflies were out. Doing some star gazing. Pano shot of the Milky Way Arch

Nice shots! I really like the series of the snapping turtle, I think the one of it under the water is my favorite, although the first two of it on shore are great too!

Yeah, I wish that one could have come out a bit better. I had switched from my 600mm lens to my 300mm because one of the adults had been making some very slow passes at close range along the cliff edge just sort of hovering in the wind. It left me a bit undergunned for that shot of the fledglings dog-fighting, I had to crop in quite a bit and focus wasn't spot on, probably because they weren't a large enough target in the viewfinder with the shorter lens. Anyway, here's one more shot from a week ago right after one of the adults made a kill. The falcon had been sitting on this same branch when it dove down into the valley below and I watched it streak out about 1/2 a mile over the farm fields. I couldn't see the kill from that distance but I knew it had successfully knocked something out of the air when it circled around and landed out in a plowed field. After several minutes it flew back up to the same perch, with the blood and feathers of some unfortunate bird stuck to its beak and talons.

Thanks, I like that one too except for accidentally clipping of the tip of the wing. I'd PM you the location but it looks like Tom already has.

Visited the peregrines this morning after getting back from a week of vacation and found that two young falcons have successfully fledged. Here's a few shots from today and some other recent photos.

Here's something a bit different. I've been camping at a state park for the last week with the family, took these while I was there. The Milky Way over the lake and stars above our cabin.

They typically begin breeding at 3 years; I'm not positive if the red tail comes in at exactly the same time.

Nice shots wooly, and you had the ID right. It's a juvenile redtail. They don't get the red tail until maturity, the juveniles have a brown banded tail as shown. Cooper's hawks have banding on the tail but it is more distinct and broader bands and they also have much more distinct banding under the wing. The shape of the hawk clearly marks it as a member of the Buteo genus as well, Cooper's hawks, sharpies, and goshawks all belong to the Accipiter genus.

Found this guy at my in-laws yesterday, don't think he was enjoying the 90° heat. I spotted him sleeping as we were going for a walk, after a while he woke up and noticed us and when we walked back through he had disappeared farther up the tree. I grabbed my camera and came back and managed to find him again, he clearly had no interest in moving anymore and looked like he had melted over top of the branch.

You would think so, but actually I taught myself to do the thread wrapping a few years ago specifically to make wingbones. There's a guy at my office who is very into building all kinds of fishing tackle who wants to get me into building rods and tying flies. I'm sure I will at some point, but right now with little kids it's hard to even find time to make a wingbone here and there.

I've made some wingbones. With an almost 5-year old and now a 5-month old I haven't had the time to make any recently but will again at some point.