Heron Regurgitating
This was something I've never seen before. This Great Blue Heron was standing next to the marina scouting for fish, while I took quite a few shots of it. I tried not to get too close, and use my zoom on full power, because herons are wary birds and don't like people getting too close. Apparently, it went into fight or flight mode, and began bringing up its last meal, lightening its load in case it had to make a hasty getaway, and I felt pretty awful for having disturbed it! Ususally, they just fly away, or start moving away, but this one didn't; it just threw up! Not something that I expected to capture, and not something I would've wanted to, but it made me critically aware of how sensitive animals can be to our presence- even ones that are fairly used to having people around.
Someone recently told me that if you mess with raptors and get too close to them, the effort they expend trying to get away from you can use so much of their resources that they could die. It takes a great deal of energy for them to hunt and catch prey. While herons seem to have no difficulty catching fish, and I've watched them expend very little energy, as they are efficient predators, they still can be upset.
Photography is a wonderful thing, and while we give others a glimpse into the world we see, one that may be rare for many people, it's easy to upset a delicate balance. This was unusual, and not something I would have known could happen. Now I do. Perhaps the bird was just sick. Unfortunately, it was probably more likely that I upset it. When I realized what was happening, I quickly walked away.
Heron Regurgitating
This was something I've never seen before. This Great Blue Heron was standing next to the marina scouting for fish, while I took quite a few shots of it. I tried not to get too close, and use my zoom on full power, because herons are wary birds and don't like people getting too close. Apparently, it went into fight or flight mode, and began bringing up its last meal, lightening its load in case it had to make a hasty getaway, and I felt pretty awful for having disturbed it! Ususally, they just fly away, or start moving away, but this one didn't; it just threw up! Not something that I expected to capture, and not something I would've wanted to, but it made me critically aware of how sensitive animals can be to our presence- even ones that are fairly used to having people around.
Someone recently told me that if you mess with raptors and get too close to them, the effort they expend trying to get away from you can use so much of their resources that they could die. It takes a great deal of energy for them to hunt and catch prey. While herons seem to have no difficulty catching fish, and I've watched them expend very little energy, as they are efficient predators, they still can be upset.
Photography is a wonderful thing, and while we give others a glimpse into the world we see, one that may be rare for many people, it's easy to upset a delicate balance. This was unusual, and not something I would have known could happen. Now I do. Perhaps the bird was just sick. Unfortunately, it was probably more likely that I upset it. When I realized what was happening, I quickly walked away.