Herons feasting in the morning light

I came across a large group of Great White Heron enjoying a morning feast. The sun came out for a few minutes and then gone again. This is near Ed Gordon Point Remove WMA off I-40 at Blackwell Arkansas.

I arrived 45 minutes before sunrise this morning and they were already in the fields. About 300 herons took to the sky and never came back to where I needed them to be. Some of them landed about hundred yards downstream and the light looked so good. This wasn't the pic I had in mind, but I'm happy the way it turned out.

I think every type of Egret and Heron species flew by me this morning. I plan to return next week when the sunshine returns. This time I'll set up in a blind.

that is a bunch of herons. I may have to start following you around, you seem to be finding some great spots around Conway lately.

sweet light, that is a lot of herons, nice job on the exposure

I really like this unique image Mike. The combination of sharp/oof herons and their oof reflections is quite nice indeed. My only suggestion would be to clone in (or tone down) the blown highlights in the water. That would keep your eye on the wonderful scene unfolding down stream. A good moment!

I was so busy alternating between taking in the whole scene and concentrating on different herons and clusters of herons and the beautiful golden water that I didn't notice the blown highlights in the foreground, but Wayne's right; they need to be dealt with. Cropping would work, although I would hate to lose the spaciousness provided by that area of unoccupied water. A judicious use of cloning or healing, or a combination of the two, might be the best solution.

Nice shot my husband !! I love the sparkle on the water combined with the reflections. You might try cropping the bottom a little more to take out that big reflection.

Mike - Great shot! The golden morning light on the water really sets it off. To see so many gathered in one place is quite a treat. Must have been a lot of tadpoles, minnows or crawdads swimming in that pond.

According to the Smithsonian Field Guide to Birds, the black legs identify these as Great Egrets. Great White Herons usually have yellow-ish legs and are most often found in Southern Florida, but occasionally farther north.

Excellent again Daniel.

This is fantastic Mike!

Ditto on the crop suggestion and I am pretty sure these are egrets.

Really cool image.

Mike, I really like your shot. I agree with your wife and others suggestion on the bottom crop. Thanks for sharing.

This is a really cool shot. Kinda has a ghostly feel to it with all the reflections.

Mike I showed this to my wife and she said it looked like a Monet. High praise from her.

I finaly made it on Earthshots. I think everyone on this forum should send something in every once in a while. If nothing else, it's a great place to see what others are doing on their weekends.
http://www.earthshots.org/2009/06/egrets-fishing-by-mike-hall/

Congratulations Mike, well done!

Mike, excellent image! Those certainly look (as Daniel L. indicated) like Great Egrets, since they have the black legs.

Regards,
Marc

Mike: are you willing to share directions to this locale? I have another post here about heading into that area:

http://www.naturephotographers.net/imagecritique/bbs.cgi?a=vm&mr=44486&CGISESSID=c193438cf01dc41cd20a851139e7d570&u=18260