Black Crowned Night Heron - Dawn Flight

January 20, 2021 - Ellis Creek in the Petaluma River Wetlands - Early Dawn

When I arrived at the pond with the Black Crowned Night Herons, it was just barely half light with the area heavily shielded from the rising sun by the line of eucalyptus and oak trees beyond. Shooting in manual mode on my camera, I set my shutter speed to 1/640 second with an f-stop of 5.6 and my auto -ISO limit at 2500 for the low light. My focus quickly found this heron, roosting in stillness as is their preferred state at this time of day.

And another heron nearby, all was very quiet, very still, very cold…and then…

A nearby heron launched up and out of the reeds flying across the pond towards the backlit trees beyond.I followed and began shooting knowing that the images would be soft at best. But Black Crowned Night Herons fly pretty slowly in still air, so I hoped for the best and kept on.

Well, the focus is soft for sure but I like the way it works with the action and the glowing dawn setting.

I tried to process these images in Lightroom as close to how I remember the lightness and the darkness at the time. I like the way they came out.

I think this is my favorite shot from this series.

I have to say that I am really fond of these Black Crowned Night Herons and very much enjoy their poses and behaviors.

Another exciting and successful encounter at the Petaluma River Wetlands.