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Juvenile White-faced Heron


Juvenile White-faced Heron
Photo Information
Copyright: Colin McQueen (McQueenca) Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 131 W: 11 N: 226] (1387)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2013-01-29
Categories: Birds
Camera: Canon 7D
Exposure: f/8, 1/400 seconds
Details: Tripod: Yes
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2013-02-04 2:18
Viewed: 3089
Points: 27
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Note
This photo was taken with a 300mm lens c/w 1.4x conveyer. This photo as cropped. Conditions were sunny with low angle light.

White-faced Heron
Egretta novaehollandiae
Ardeidae

The White-faced Heron is particularly versatile. It can be seen in many different wetland habitats: they occur on reefs, in rock pools and mudflats by the coast, in estuaries and saltmarsh, swamps, rivers, drains and at farm dams; they even occur in pasture and hypersaline wetlands. There they can be seen foraging for a wide range of prey, mostly small aquatic creatures, using various methods, including standing and waiting for their prey, slowly stalking it, frantically dashing after it, or disturbing it by stirring the water with their feet.

Description

The White-faced Heron is mostly light blue-grey in colour, with a characteristic white face. In flight, the dark flight feathers of the wing contrast with the paler grey plumage, making this bird easily identifiable when viewed from below. It has a long, slim neck and a pointed grey-black bill. The legs are long and dull yellow in colour. Sexes are similar. When breeding, the birds have long feathers (nuptial plumes) on the head, neck and back. The White-faced Heron has a slow bouncing flight. Young White-faced Herons are similar in appearance to the non-breeding adults (no nuptial plumes), but are duller, with little or no white on the face. They often have a reddish colour on the underparts.

Location
Distribution

White-faced Herons are the most commonly seen herons in Australia. They are found throughout the mainland and Tasmania, and most coastal islands. They also occur in Indonesia, New Guinea, New Caledonia and New Zealand.

Behaviour
Feeding

The White-faced Heron feeds on a wide variety of prey, including fish, insects and amphibians. Food is obtained in a variety of ways, such as walking and disturbing prey, searching among damp crevices or simply standing in the water and watching for movement.

Breeding

White-faced Herons may breed outside the breeding season in response to rainfall. Both sexes share the building of the nest, incubation of the eggs and care of the young. The nest is an untidy structure of sticks, placed in a tree. Normally only one brood of young is raised in a year.

Source: www.birdlife.org.au.
maaciejka, CeltickRanger, anel, Jakkals has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

Hello Colin,
Beautiful active picture of this Heron.Good sharpness and soft colour on feather.Nice POV.Dark BG helping to concentrate on this Heron.
Thanks for sharing,
Kind regards,
Srikumar

  • Great 
  • PeterZ Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5137 W: 166 N: 13121] (49139)
  • [2013-02-04 3:51]

Hello Colin,
Excellent photo of this heron in beautiful contrasting colours against the dark background. Great sharpness, details and a very nice diagonal composition.
Regards,
Peter

  • Great 
  • nagraj Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1618 W: 106 N: 3208] (15166)
  • [2013-02-04 4:34]

Hi,
Striking pose by this beautiful heron...fine composition and lighting. lovely image. tfs.
nagraj.v

Hello Colin,
Nice capture with a beautiful pose,excellent clarity and a lovely composition.
TFS and my regards,
Joy

Ciao Colin, great capture of lovely Heron in fantastic pose, fine details, excellent sharpness, splendid light and wonderful natural colors, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

你好
這鷺鷥照的很清楚
動作可愛 好像在等待一次的出擊
謝謝分享
晚安
STONE

hello Colin
very nice picture
great details and good sharpness
colours are beautiful
thanks greeting lou

Hello Colin
Excellent photo and composition. Perfect exposure and very good detail. Nice pose.
Interesting and fine photo.
regards yiannis

Hi Colin,
I like this bird. Excellent point of view. Amazing colours.
Thanks for sharing
Maciek

  • Great 
  • lousat Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 6595 W: 89 N: 15659] (65489)
  • [2013-02-04 15:08]

Hi Colin,a very nice capture of this problematic walk of this young heron,a great diagonal perspective and the usual excellent quality of details and colors,i like it!Have a nice day and thanks,Luciano

Hello Colin

The subject and foreground being in the light
it is doing great contrast with the dark background,
the POV you choose with the framing, and with the
Heron's expressive pose it adds dynamism to the image, TFS

Asbed

  • Great 
  • anel Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 3053 W: 3 N: 8715] (40574)
  • [2013-02-05 5:57]

Hello Colin,
Another beautiful and vivid bird-picture. Love the attitude of the Heron you show on this shot. Pleasant composition and natural colors.
Thanks!
Anne

Hello Colin,
A beautiful shot of this Heron zoned in on it's prey in the water. Perfect positioning of your object in excellent clarity against the contrasting dark BG. Your POV was perfect my friend.
Best regards,
Carl

  • Good 
  • fthsm Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 172 W: 56 N: 512] (3689)
  • [2013-07-02 5:01]

This looks more like a dark morph Eastern Reef Egret.

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