The Great Blue Heron is a bird species frequently seen around Coastal North Carolina. With beautiful blue-grey coloring and black eyebrows that extend into plumes off the back of the head, they’re always a joy to observe. A large bird they stand 42 to 52 inches tall and have wingspans up to 6 feet across. These birds can be seen hunting in shallows of both salt and fresh water. They primarily feed on small fish, frogs, insects and snakes. A year-round resident in Coastal Carolina, Great Blue Herons are migratory in the extreme western portions of the state. This magnificant bird can be found throughout the United States during the summer months.

When photographing Great Blue Herons it’s important to keep in mind they’re frequently a bit darker than the surround Spartina grass or other common environments. The trick is to overexpose slightly compared to the reading provided by your camera’s metering system. Plus 1/3 to 2/3 of a stop is usually sufficient. Don’t overexpose too much or you blow the detail in the head area. Approaches towards these birds needs to be slow and cautious. They spook easily. Learning where they like to hunt then staking out that area may be more productive than attempting to stalk them for photographs. To find opportunities for observing or photographing Great Blue Herons try visiting the Tideland Trail near Cape Carteret, The Pinecliff Recreation area section of the Neusiok Tral, or take a drive through Downeast Carteret county along Highway 70 between Beaufort and Cedar Island.

Precipitation has been the keyword for Winter 2010 in Eastern North Carolina. Rain, rain and more rain and now, a very significant snow fall! It’s almost unheard of… 4, 5, even 6 inches and more snow for Coastal Carolina! The snow cover certainly made for some unusual landscapes. Combined with all the rain, it’s also taking a toll on the accessibility of local hiking trails. Take the Patsy Pond trail for example. I visited the trail the afternoon following the snow storm and, fortunately, I’d made the hike wearing waders. About 1/2 the way around the yellow loop trail sections started looking more like a stream than a hiking trail. In fact I waded water that was over kneed deep! I’ve been visiting this trail for a number of years and have always considered it a great choice when the weather is wet. Below are a coupld of images from Febuary, 13, 2010 showing the snow storm. One shows the Patsy Pond trail looking like a stream. The other shows a marsh area bordering the Newport River and Neusiok Trail.

I received a phone yesterday evening telling me of several thousand Tundra Swans being spotted in Down East Carteret County. Unfortunately the call came too late for me to check them out so I headed out this morning to see if they were stil there. They were, but in a location where there really wasn’t a way to get close enough to get decent photos. We were separated by water and several yards of posted, private property. It was still neat seeing and hearing all of them. Very much reminded me of my earlier trips to Lake Mattamuskeet.

Since I was downeast anyway I decided to head over to Harkers Island. There’s almost always something interesting hanging out around the community harbor. If all else fails, there will be Brown Pelicans there. Much to my surprise, not only were the usual pelicans and gulls hanging out at the harbor, there was a Black-crowned Night Heron on site… a bird I rarely get to see. These birds range from 23 to 28 inches in height and have short yellow legs and a short neck. As their name implies Black-crowned Night Herons typically hunt after dark, as the other herons are roosting for the night. Stockier built than most herons, their red eyes are rather striking.

Many of my favorite spots for hiking and photographing have become mud bogs. The rain this winter has been unrelenting. When conditions are like this you can suck it up and it slop along the muddy trails, stay home and daydream of an outdoor adventure, or do what I did, head for the beach. Unless the wind is roaring you can almost always find some kind of subject matter at the beach. Sanderlings, Sea Gulls, Brown Pelicans… something’s probably going to be there to photograph. Our beaches, however, can be a bit challenging. You need to know the area a bit to improve your odds of getting acceptable shots.

One important issues to consider when your goal is to take photos is the direction of the sun. Ideally the sun should be directly behind you for avian photography. If not directly behind you, mostly behind. Finding the right time of day and location can be challenging unless you’re familar with the local beaches. The next issue is knowing where to find the birds. You’re not necessarily going to encounter birds along just any stretch of the beach. The movement of birds… where they congregate… is largely dependent upon feeding opportunities. The birds are going to be where the food is. Knowledge of shoaling, water depths and tide schedules all play a big role in locating birds. By combining local knowledge of the beaches and some solid technique your chance of getting a few good images is greatly enhanced.

A while back I posted about the importance of being willing to get down and dirty to get interesting, compelling images. Sometimes that can lead to a bit of discomfort.  To capture these images of Sanderlings I was laying and sitting in very, very wet sand. My pants and shirt were soaked, the wind was blowing hard and the temperature was dropping quickly. Simply put, it wasn’t particularly comfortable. But the choice really comes down to whether you want to make interesting photos, or stay comfy. Honestly, depending upon my mood and how ambitious I am on a particular day, sometimes comfy wins the battle. But in most cases getting the shot will be worth the effort.

I’ve written about Sanderlings before so I’ll spare you a rewrite of information about the species. These images were taken near sunset, along the Crystal Coast as the birds were feeding and the tide was receding. In the first image the sun is coming over my right shoulder, resulting in more of a slide-lit image. I’m sitting with my elbows resting on my knees to brace the camera. I needed a slightly higher point of view in order to capture the reflection. In the second image I’m closer to eye-level with the bird and the sun is closer to being directly behind me. I also fired a flash to fill shadows and get a catchlight in the eye.

The weather has simply been terrible lately. Combine that with a fairly full schedule and I’m finding myself suffering from a major case of cabin fever. It’s been so wet here lately that even setting-up in the backyard to photogrpah birds around the feeder is a challenge. It would take very little activity to turn my yard into a mud bog! But at least there’s plenty of time to dream and to plan the adventures that will come with Spring.

One thing I’m looking forward to when warmer weather arrives is doing a bit of kayaking. There are some very wonderful natural areas around the Crystal Coast, but many of them are only accessible by water. The kayak will allow me to explore some areas that I wouldn’t be able to otherwise. One advantage of a kayak, or so I’m told by those that use them for wildlife photography, is that birds and animals aren’t as skittish of kayakers as they are hikers. Most of the things that threaten them in the wild come from the land, not the water. Another advantage is that a kayak sits you closer to the surface of the water… that gives you a lower angle of view in your photos. And, of course, it’s a fairly quiet way of approaching wildlife, unlike a skiff with its outboard motor. It should be fun.

In selecting a kayak with photography in mind I probably made a pest of myself on a few of the nature forums. I asked a lot of questions of folks with experience… possibly to the point of being annoying. But it is so easy to spend money poorly when setting-out in a new direction and I really wanted to make a sound decision. From my research I decided that I wanted a “recreational” rated boat, as it would likely be a bit more stable. (For some reason camera gear and baths don’t mix well!) This style of boat also tends to have a larger cockpit making it easier to shoot from. I also learned that there is some advantage to length. The longer boats tend to move through the water faster, easier, straighter and require a bit less effort to paddle. While I started out looking at 10 foot boats I ended up with a 12 footer. I settled on a Prodigy 12.0 by Perception. The three boats I was most interested in were the Prodigy, the Pamlico or Pungo by Wilderness Systems, and the Dirigo by Old Town. I suspect any of the three would have met my requirements.

Since this is a new endeavor for me I wanted to keep things as economic as possible. Anytime embarking on some new outdoor activity there’s a real possibility of finding it’s not what one thought it would be! As such I shopped around for a used boat. Many times kayaking outfitters will sell off their rental boats during the off-season. These kinds of purchases can save one a bit of money. I ended up buying a rental program boat from Paddle Creek, Wake Forest, NC. I found them to be very friendly and helpful throughout the process.

So here I sit, daydreaming of adventures to come. As warm weather arrives I hope to provide some reports, and imagery of course, from places like the White Oak River, Newport River, Back Sound, Shakleford Banks, Rachael Carson Estuarine perserve and other wet and wild places around the Crystal Coast. Since I really don’t have an image taken from a kayak yet, but it wouldn’t feel right to make a post without a photo, how about a nice symbol of Spring? Taken recently along the Neusiok Trail near the Pine Cliff recreation area, an Eastern Bluebird… certainly a creature of the spring in my mind.