Boat-billed Heron

Gallery: AvianPosted June 2, 20184,910 views12 comments

I thought this was a fun shot from our Costa Rica trip, the light was fading fast as this species tends to come out late in the day. I was keeping my speed up by both dropping my F-stop and upping the iso as we were photographing from a boat and I was having a hard time making sharp images at lower speeds. Note the wasp under the wing as well.
Canon 1DX 500F4 1/1000 F4.5, iso 3200

Comments

12 comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on June 2, 2018 at 11:15 PM

Very nice, Nate. That huge gaping bill is really neat and the bird is nice and sharp as is the wasp.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Charles Gangas on June 3, 2018 at 11:24 AM

Cool behavioral capture and neat to get the wasp in the frame. Your quick reaction to the changing conditions helped pull this off so well. devil

Registered on August 12, 2009, 544 Posts, 2414 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Leggett on June 3, 2018 at 12:36 PM

A neat shot and good eye contact, Nate. The open bill adds to the fun. I immediately thought of the shoe bill, maybe they're related?

Registered on July 21, 2004, 706 Posts, 3233 Comments

Comment posted by David Schoen on June 3, 2018 at 1:52 PM

I like the pose and the open bill. The out of focus leaves at the bottom add a nice artistic touch to this image.

Registered on November 6, 2006, 1213 Posts, 4587 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Minish on June 3, 2018 at 4:18 PM

A very nice photo of a very ugly bird, Nate! It's impressively clean for ISO-3200 and the extra shutter speed obviously paid off. It even stopped the wasp :-) Very natural colors and great detail also.

Registered on February 4, 2006, 625 Posts, 3583 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on June 3, 2018 at 6:13 PM

Thanks for the comments guys. Bill, they aren't genetically related because this species is a heron and the Shoebill is a stork, but maybe a case of convergent evolution with them developing similar beaks in different parts of the world.

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Ed Williams on June 3, 2018 at 6:20 PM

What a happy looking little creature Nate. Great job with iso 3200 on clarity and sharp detail.

Registered on December 28, 2010, 636 Posts, 3499 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on June 3, 2018 at 10:43 PM

Reminds me of my mother-in-law, except she kept her wasp in her mouth! sad

Seriously, a jam up picture of this weird looking critter. Considering the down spiraling light conditions, You did a great job of staying on top of it. Good, professional work!

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by Debapratim Saha on June 4, 2018 at 10:03 AM

A beautiful image of this lovely unique heron with natural elements all around Nate.

Registered on February 4, 2018, 26 Posts, 101 Comments

Comment posted by S Govindarajan on June 4, 2018 at 1:58 PM

Excellent capture of this elusive heron, Nate. Interesting behavior that also shows the habitat very well. The colors look spot on. The preferred habitat of these herons is certainly challenging for sharp images.

Registered on April 19, 2008, 115 Posts, 1921 Comments

Comment posted by David Bogener on June 8, 2018 at 10:45 AM

Interesting pose. Getting clean shots of these guys awake, in the open, in decent light is tough! Well done.

Registered on October 30, 2013, 417 Posts, 1255 Comments

Comment posted by Hans Overduin on June 9, 2018 at 11:35 AM

Great species, well done from a wobbly boat enlightened

. The insect is a nice bonus ! Wonderful catch, Nate ! Cheers, Hans

Registered on August 31, 2011, 491 Posts, 3807 Comments