We Now Interrupt our Regularly Scheduled Great Blue Heron Programming

Mute swan cygnets nestled between mother’s wings.
Please click here for the Swan Photo Gallery

The artist’s job is to get the audience to care about your obsessions.

 Martin Scorsese

The photographer is busted!! Wonder what he’s thinking as he discovers the camera.

People who know me know that my motto is “Walk softly and carry a long lens.™” Because most of the photos on this blog were taken on the water, it is especially important to give the wildlife an extra-wide margin of personal space so as to not endanger them in any way by venturing too close. As much as I take special precautions to remain hidden from their view, including use of telephoto lenses and natural-cover hides, every once in a while the wildlife sees me. And every once in a while when that happens, the result is humorous, like the cygnet in the above photo, staring straight at my camera. The other photos from that day’s series show the mother swan serenely ferrying her brood about the lake, but this one has that extra-extra something.
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Wait for Meeee!! Mute swan cygnet tries to fly.

Most birds nest in trees, and when it comes time to kick the babies out of the nest, gravity plays a big role in the fledgling efforts to fly. Not so for birds like swans that nest on the ground. Fledgling swans must propel themselves UP, not DOWN like tree nesters. Maybe the cygnet at far right in the above photo is saying “Wait for me!” as the conga line of swans moves forward. Or just maybe he is trying out his little wing muscles and learning to fly.
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And since this is a Great Blue Heron space after all an obligatory Heron photo …

Chih-chih-chih… chih-chih-chih… chih-chih-chih… changes.

It’s not just a David Bowie song.

Great Blue Heron and Four Chicks in Nest

It is music to my ears, the sounds of Great Blue Heron chicks in the nest: chih-chih-chih… chih-chih-chih… chih-chih-chih…
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This week’s Lens Artist challenge from Patti, with Tina, Amy, and Leya, focuses on things from Large to Small. The photos in today’s post showcase the size differences between adult birds and their chicks. The mute swan cygnets are dwarfed by the parents and ride on the parent’s back until they are strong enough to paddle about on their own. The great blue heron chicks femain in the nest totally depending on food from their parents until they have developed wing feathers and strength that allow fledging.

Check out the Lens Artists’ Large to Small photos here:

From Patti Lens Artists Weekly Photo Challenge 151: From Large to Small .
From Tina Lens Artists Weekly Photo Challenge 151: From Large to Small .
From Amy Lens Artists Weekly Photo Challenge 151: From Large to Small .
From Leya Lens Artists Weekly Photo Challenge 149: Cool Colors – Blue and Green .

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Folks, now that some areas are opening back up, please consider supporting your local Arts communities – whether music, theater, crafts, visual arts venues, and others. All have been impacted over the past year and they need your love.

My brick & mortar presence in Massachusetts dates back to 2009 in several local venues/galleries.

2015 (May), 2016 (March and July), 2018 (May, June, July), 2019 (December), 2020 (January) several one-woman photography shows at TCAN – The Center for Arts Natick
2018 (September, October) one-woman photography show at Natick Town Hall
2013 thru now 2021 Five Crows Gallery in Natick
2009 one-woman photography show at a local Audubon Sanctuary

From December 4 through January 28, 2020, my Great Blue Heron photographs were once again on display on the walls of the lobby and theater in a free one-woman show at the Summer Street Gallery, of The Center for Arts in Natick.

Many of the photos in the exhibit were shown for the first time, and do not appear on the blog. As always, many of the photos were taken on the waterways of the Charles River watershed.
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Thanks to Erica V and WordPress for the recent WPC: Place in the World. My favorite place is where the Herons are, of course it is. And the Herons? Their place is near the water, but also on the gallery walls and my blog. How else can I share them with you?

Thanks also to Ben H and WordPress for their WPC Challenge: Liquid. The Herons are drawn to water, as am I.
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Remember: Walk softly and carry a long lens.™

The Tao of Feathers™

© 2003-2021 Babsje. (https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com)

Great Blue Heron, TCAN, Five Crows, Natick