Early Bird Arrival
I had watched the weather report the previous night and saw that it was planning on being a beautiful morning today, So I got up early and arrived at a local pond around 5:00 A.M. The sun was already partially above the horizon but there were still areas on the pond that was not well lite. That was due to some of the tall trees surrounding the pond. In one particular spot there was a shallow cove that is protected from the early morning rays more then others. And this is where the action in the video took place.
Arriving At The Perfect Time
As I pulled off the road into the turn out and shut my truck off, I noticed a very young red-winged black bird sitting on top of a small tree chirping his heart out.
At first, I have to admit, I didn’t know what kind of beautiful bird it was. See, he was sitting in the very harsh bright light of the raising sun. It gave him a reddish hue and in turn, made his neck and chest area a more reddish color then the actual black that they are.
I quietly got out of my truck, making sure to take the keys out of the ignition so the door chimes wouldn’t go berserk once I opened the door. Slowly I uncapped my camera and did the best I could to get a good focus on him even though there was the harsh lighting.
I was not able to get a great still photo, so I switched to video mode and thought I would see if I could get a crisp clear video of him. Considering what I had to work with for lighting, the video didn’t come out horrible. The camera was having some issues with figuring out what to focus on unfortunately.
Permission Granted Blue Heron You Are Clear To Land
While I was videoing the young red-wing blackbird, it became very skittish and decided to fly away. I lowered my camera from my eye for a split second so I could visually track him and see if I would be able to spot him again. Maybe next time, he would be out of the harsh light where I could take a clean still shot of him.
But instead, I spotted a Mature Blue Heron flying in low right at me. I had been standing perfectly still while videoing the young blackbird and apparently the Blue Heron never noticed me. It was heading for the cove possibly after one of the very loud frogs.
Without shutting the camera off, I managed to swivel (ever so slowly) my head. Doing so, I was able to capture the Heron on video. This is where I tell you that I had been standing on uneven ground and was not in the best position to stand in. If you watch the video you will understand why I felt I need to add this little piece of information. (can you say shakiness?)
Luckily, the cove had just enough tree growth to shield me from having to try and video into direct sun light. The quality is not the best, but it was the best I got in such bad lighting.
Feel free to leave a comment below and let me know what you think of my Red-Winged Blackbird Fledgling And Heron video.