Category Archives: Bird photography

Heron & Hawk’s Excellent Hair-raising Adventure

Great Blue Heron with wings akimbo in the cove - babsjeheron  
 © Babsje (https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com)

Great Blue Heron with wings akimbo in the cove – babsjeheron

The raptor swooped low across the secluded cove where the yearling Great Blue Heron was fishing far out in the middle, exposed and vulnerable to danger.

I didn’t see the incoming bird at all – my eye was glued to the camera’s viewfinder – and the first sign that something was about to happen was the Heron’s cap feathers erecting suddenly. His neck feathers erected simultaneously, making his neck grow to three times it’s usual size. One second he looked normal and literally the next, he had fluffed up the way an alarmed cat’s tail expands to five times normal size.

Great Blue Heron reacts with erect cap feathers when dive-bombed by a Hawk - babsjeheron    © Babsje (https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com)

Great Blue Heron reacts with erect cap feathers when dive-bombed by a Hawk – babsjeheron The Heron does look a bit comical here,  doesn’t he?

Only after noticing his shock of feathers did I see the blurry form cross in front of us, swooping a couple feet above the surface.

The ducks in the cove clamored furiously, and the jays squawked, but as far as I could tell, no ducks or jays were harmed, and the danger passed.

After the blurry raptor whizzed past us, the yearling returned to his fishing and I to the camera.

Then just three minutes later, the same thing happened again – through the camera, I noticed another incredible expansion of the Heron’s neck feathers. This time, I fired off the shutter as fast as possible. I captured three or four frames of the Heron with his huge puffed up neck and raised crest feathers, and in one, there’s a brown and white blur zooming close by the Heron, the Hawk on her return down the cove.

The atmosphere in the cove had been supercharged with energy when the Hawk first made its presence known. The Great Blue Heron’s cap feathers erected suddenly, and his neck feathers puffed out simultaneously, making his neck grow to three times it’s usual size as you saw in a photo above.

The ducks clamored furiously, and the jays squawked, but almost as quickly as it arrived, the Hawk disappeared deep into the thicket at the East. As far as I could tell, no ducks or jays were harmed there below the dense canopy of trees.

The danger past, I returned to taking photos of the Heron, who had resumed fishing mid-cove, his cap and neck feathers back to their normal sleek configuration.

What happened next was unexpected.

Through the camera, I noticed the Heron’s neck blow up in alarm again to three times it’s normal size.

The Hawk had returned, and was barreling down the cove – straight for the Heron.

This time, unlike the first, I kept my eye glued to the camera and fired off shots as fast as possible.

© Babsje (https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com)

The Hawk strafing the Great Blue Heron flew faster than the
Heron’s reflexes could handle, not to mention my shutter speed – babsjeheron

The Hawk appears in only one frame of all the photos I squeezed off, it’s the photo shown above. The Hawk was so spectacularly fast that the Heron was still looking in the direction from where the Hawk came long after the Hawk had flown by.

Although his behavior was typical of being startled – expanding his feathers to make himself appear larger and more threatening to an adversary – he didn’t show any other outward signs of fear, and made no attempt to flee when the Hawk buzzed by him. 

Hawks and Herons are both territorial, yet those two birds both seem to share the cove, an odd yet peaceable coexistence for two predators. That’s just supposition on my part, and it makes me wonder even more about the behavior of wild things at the lake when there are no humans around.

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File this under fun with Herons and Hawks!
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About today’s post: Today’s post is prompted by Debbie Smyth’s Six on Saturday, I.J.’s Bird of the Week, Jez’s Water Water Everywhere, and the Lens Artists Art in the Park challenge.

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Because of my near-blindness, I’m not able to link in my posts to the various host sites for WP challenges/tags in the way I have always done in the past, but please know that I value the sense of community here, especially among the Lens Artists, Cee Neuner, Debbie Smyth, Leanne Cole, BeckyB, Denzil, I.J., Restless Jo, Tofino Photography, Dan Antion, Terri Webster Schrandt, Bush Boy, Jez, Fandango, and so many more, who all encourage the entire international network of photographers and writers. Sorry that I cannot link directly at this time – this is the best I can do for now.
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MASS Audubon One-Woman Show July 2009 - babsjeheron © 2021 Babsje (https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com)

Audubon One-Woman Show -babsjeheron

Mass Audubon July 2009 Nbr 2 - babsjeheron © 2021 Babsje (https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com)

Audubon One-Woman Show Lobby – babsjeheron

TCAN One-Woman Show January thru February 26 2022 Lobby Wall With TCAN Reflection © 2022 Babsje (https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com)

TCAN One-Woman Show January through February 2022 Lobby Wall With TCAN Sign Reflected; TCAN Stained glass art by Carol Krentzman, framed by Jay Ball

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. The Summer Street Gallery provides an opportunity for accomplished visual artists in the region to have their work prominently displayed for TCAN’s diverse and loyal audience. If you’re in the Boston area, please stop by TCAN to see the wonderful gallery displays of artworks by many talented visual artists, as well as excellent live music performances and stage plays. The gallery is open whenever the box office is open, so please check hours here.

As always, many of my own photos were taken on the waterways of the Charles River watershed.

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Natick Artists Sidewalk Chalk

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Art In The Park 2023

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Art in the Park 2023 is coming: June 11 at Shaw Park! Over two dozen local artists will be displaying their work, including pottery, paintings, and more.
CLICK to learn more about Art in the Park

ARTISTS: Bree Richey – Silver & Gold Jewelry; Chrissy Viveiros – Painting, Clay, Photography; Corinne Rhode – Digital Photography; Deb Sayre – jewelry and mosaics; Derrick Sanderson – Acrylics and Watercolor; Diane Gray – Photography/mixed media; Dina Juhaz – Unique Handmade Cards; Ginger McEachern – Watercolor, mixed media; Helen Bellomo – Fabric, memory blankets; Janis Luedke – Children’s Book and paintings; John Holz – Sterling Silver jewelry; Karen Benoit – eco-prints, photos, alcohol ink; Liliana Glenn – Lampwork Art Glass; Martha Gold – Ceramin Vessels; Oliver Thom – Photography; Rolf Larson – Photograpy; Rose Lawrence – acrylic; Ryan Black – painting; Sarah Fuhro – clay forms and images; Stephen Strout – wood cutting boards; Steven Rae – Handmade small batch pottery

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Natick Center Cultural District logo

Natick Center Cultural District logo

Folks, now that some areas have opened back up in a new normal, please consider supporting your local Arts communities – whether music, theater, crafts, visual arts venues, and others. All have been impacted over the past THREE years and they still need your love more than ever.

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The Natick Center Cultural District is situated in a friendly, classic New England town hosting a vibrant, contemporary fusion of art, culture and business. Click here and here to learn more!

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My brick & mortar presence in Massachusetts dates back to 2009 in several local venues/galleries.
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Watch this space for my 2023 one-woman show – Coming this summer.
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TCAN – The Center for Arts Natick:

  • January thru February 2022 – One-woman photography show
  • December 2019 thru January 2020 – One-woman photography show
  • May, June, July 2018 – One-woman photography show
  • July 2016 – One-woman photography show
  • March 2016 – One-woman photography show
  • May 2015 – One-woman photography show

Natick Town Hall:

  • July 2022 to January 2023 – Group exhibit
  • January thru June 2022 – Group exhibit
  • September thru october 2018 – One-woman photography show

Five Crows Gallery in Natick – Represented since 2013
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Audubon Sanctuary:

  • July 2009 – One-woman photography show

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Be a fly on the wall! Please CLICK HERE to see the Great Blue Herons gracing the gallery walls.
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Remember: Walk softly and carry a long lens.™

May the Muse be with you.™

The Tao of Feathers™

A Patience of Herons™

© 2003-2023 Babsje. (https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com)

Share the love, but please respect the copyright. No reposting of any photos without permission.

Great Blue Heron, Kayaking, TCAN, Five Crows, Natick Center Cultural District, Hawk

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Beautiful Great Blue Heron Wishing Peace on Earth (Not Art Nbr 26)

© 2020 Babsje (https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com)

Great Blue Heron 2020 Greetings – babsjeheron

There is not only peacefulness, there is joy. And the joy, less deniable in its evidence than the peacefulness, is the confirmation of it. I sat one summer evening and watched a great blue heron make his descent from the top of the hill into the valley. He came down at a measured deliberate pace, stately as always, like a dignitary going down a stair. And then, at a point I judged to be midway over the river, without at all varying his wingbeat he did a backward turn in the air, a loop-the-loop. It could only have been a gesture of pure exuberance, of joy — a speaking of his sense of the evening, the day’s fulfillment, his descent homeward.

Wendell Berry
The Art of the Commonplace: Agrarian Essays by Wendell Berry

Tis the season for wishes of peace on earth, goodwill to all.

But wait. On second thought, why should those sentiments be extended only during the holiday season? I encourage peace on earth and goodwill to all for every season of the year.

May 2021 bring you peace, health, happiness, and joy to all.

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This week, the always-inspiring Lens Artists – Patti, Tina, Amy, and Leya – focus on the holiday season.

From Patti Lens Artists Weekly Photo Challenge 128: Here Comes the Holiday Season .
From Tina Lens Artists Weekly Photo Challenge 128: Here Comes the Holiday Season.
From Amy Lens Artists Weekly Photo Challenge 127: Precious Moments .
From Leya Lens Artists Weekly Photo Challenge 128: Here Comes the Holiday Season .

And thanks to Cee for her Hunt for joy.

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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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During September and October, 2018, the Great Blue Herons were featured on the walls of the Natick Town Hall, located at 13 East Central Street in Natick, MA.
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Remember: Walk softly and carry a long lens.™

The Tao of Feathers™

© 2020 Babsje. (https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com)

Great Blue Heron, TCAN, Five Crows, Natick
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Beautiful Great Blue Heron Balancing on the Fish Ladder

© Babsje (https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com)

Great Blue Heron Balanced on Fish Ladder- babsjeheron

Life spreads itself across
the ceiling to make you think
you are penned in, but that
is just another gift. Life takes
what you thought you couldn’t live
without and gives you a heron instead.

On the Meaning of (excerpt)
Linda Back McKay

The Next Best Thing: Poems

My blog and I have been very quiet for many months due to serious illness that has prevented outings in nature.

This morning, though, I ventured to the nearby dam for the first time since last September, camera in hand. Less than five seconds after arriving, a beautiful heron swooped down to fish at the base of the waterfall. It was the same heron you see at the top of this post.

I was, and still am, thrilled to see her again.

Life has given me a heron, as the poem says. .
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Thanks to the Lens Artists Patti, Tina, Amy, and Leya for their unstinting devotion to elevating and celebrating photography.
From Patti Lens Artists Weekly Photo Challenge 53: Your Choice.
From Tina Lens Artists Weekly Photo Challenge 53: Your Choice.
From Amy Lens Artists Weekly Photo Challenge 53: Your Choice.
From Leya Lens Artists Weekly Photo Challenge 53: Your Choice.

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Thanks to Debbie for her Travel with Intent Challenge – One Word Sunday: Relax. Although I was relaxed while waiting for this Heron to pounce on her lunch from the pooling water below the fish ladder, she was anything but, poised there on one foot, straining her neck and head downward for a better view of any fish that had cascaded over the waterfall.

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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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During September and October, 2018, the Great Blue Herons were featured on the walls of the Natick Town Hall, located at 13 East Central Street in Natick, MA.
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From May 1 through July 11, 2018, my Great Blue Heron photographs once again graced 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. If you’re in the Boston or Metro West area, please stop by to see the current gallery show at TCAN. The gallery is open whenever the box office is open, so please check hours here.
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Through July 13, 2017 I was a Featured Artist at the Five Crows Gallery in Natick, MA. Drop in and see the work of the many wonderfully creative artists who show there when you’re in the area. Five Crows is on FaceBook. To give the gallery a visit, please click here.

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Remember: Walk softly and carry a long lens.™

The Tao of Feathers™

© 2019 Babsje. (https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com)

Great Blue Heron, TCAN, Five Crows, Natick

When is a Beautiful Great Blue Heron Most Like a Golden Retriever?

© Babsje (https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com)

Great Blue Heron Shaking off Water – babsjeheron

Happiness is a warm puppy Great Blue Heron.

With apologies to Charles Schultz and Peanuts

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Just like a wet dog, a Heron sheds water by doing a whole-body shake. Today’s Heron is the same one shown running on the water. When she came to a stop at the water’s edge, she launched into a full-body shake that sent her wings shimmying, feathers ruffling and water spraying in all directions.

This photo is a variation on an earlier theme of mine: When is a Great Blue Heron Most Like a Dog? In that post, you can see multiple photos showing the range of motion used to dry off.

When dogs shake off water, the movement starts at their snout, and if you grab their muzzle, supposedly they can’t complete the shake. Do you suppose grabbing a Heron’s bill would have the same effect?

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Thanks to Jen H and WordPress for this week’s WPC Challenge: Beloved. The love I feel for this Great Blue Heron in particular is long-standing. She is the same Heron as featured here and even here.

Thanks also to Ben H and WordPress for their recent WPC Challenge: Variations on a Theme.

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From July 1 through July 30, 2016, I was the Featured Artist of the Month at the Summer Street Gallery. The Great Blue Heron photographs once again graced the walls of the lobby and theater in a one-woman show at The Center for Arts in Natick. In addition to the visual arts shown at the gallery, TCAN has a lively, dynamic lineup of upcoming performing artists.

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Through July 13, 2017 I was a Featured Artist at the Five Crows Gallery in Natick, MA. Drop in and see the work of the many wonderfully creative artists who show there when you’re in the area.

Five Crows is on FaceBook. To give the gallery a visit, please click here.
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Remember: Walk softly and carry a long lens.™

The Tao of Feathers™

© 2018 Babsje. (https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com)

Great Blue Heron, Kayaking, TCAN, Five Crows

Put a Beautiful Great Blue Heron on a Pedestal? Who, me? Take 2

© Babsje (https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com)

Great Blue Heron on a Pedestal Nbr 2 – babsjeheron

… Suddenly I realize
That if I stepped out of my body I would break
Into flight.

With apologies to James Wright’s poem “A Blessing”
The Branch Will not Break

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In more than a dozen years kayaking that area of the lake, I saw a Great Blue Heron atop that tree pedestal only once – and that day, before I could raise the camera, a pod of kayakers approached from the north, flushing the Great Blue. It was very satisfying to finally stumble across her there a couple of months ago. I watched her through binocs and telephoto lens from a distance for nearly an hour as she slept and then preened and then slept some more, perched on one leg the whole time.

This photo is a variation of an earlier image. Click here if you didn’t see that photo. Which do you prefer?

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Thanks to Jen H and WordPress for this week’s WPC Challenge: Beloved. The love I feel for the magnificent Great Blue Herons is no small secret.

Thanks also to Ben H and WordPress for their recent WPC Challenge: Variations on a Theme.

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From July 1 through July 30, 2016, I was the Featured Artist of the Month at the Summer Street Gallery. The Great Blue Heron photographs once again graced the walls of the lobby and theater in a one-woman show at The Center for Arts in Natick. In addition to the visual arts shown at the gallery, TCAN has a lively, dynamic lineup of upcoming performing artists.

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Through July 13, 2017 I was a Featured Artist at the Five Crows Gallery in Natick, MA. Drop in and see the work of the many wonderfully creative artists who show there when you’re in the area.

Five Crows is on FaceBook. To give the gallery a visit, please click here.

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Remember: Walk softly and carry a long lens.™

The Tao of Feathers™

© 2018 Babsje. (https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com)

Great Blue Heron, Kayaking, TCAN, Five Crows

Put a Beautiful Great Blue Heron on a Pedestal? Who, me?

© 2017 Babsje (https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com)

Great Blue Heron on a Pedestal – babsjeheron

And when I’ve reached the end of my days, may I be found with a Great Blue Heron’s nest built within my ribcage.
With apologies to Robert Macfarlane
The Old Ways

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Thanks to Jen H and WordPress for this week’s WPC Challenge: Satisfaction/. In more than a dozen years kayaking that area of the lake, I had observed a Great Blue Heron atop that tree pedestal only once – and at that time, before I could raise the camera, a pod of kayaks approached from the north, flushing the Great Blue. It was very satisfying to finally stumble across her there two weeks ago. I observed through binocs and telephoto lens from a distance for nearly an hour as she slept and then preened and then slept some more, perched on one leg the whole time.

Thanks also to Paula for hosting her Thursday’s Special: Slow. It was a slow hour spent watching the Great Blue Heron languidly perched atop her pedestal. I was grateful to be in her presence, the two of us alone in a fine drizzle in the cove.

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Through July 13, 2017 I was a Featured Artist at the Five Crows Gallery in Natick, MA. Drop in and see the work of the many wonderfully creative artists who show there when you’re in the area.

Five Crows is on FaceBook. To give the gallery a visit, please click here.

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From July 1 through July 30, 2016, I was the Featured Artist of the Month at the Summer Street Gallery. The Great Blue Heron photographs once again graced the walls of the lobby and theater in a one-woman show at The Center for Arts in Natick. In addition to the visual arts shown at the gallery, TCAN has a lively, dynamic lineup of upcoming performing artists.
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Remember: Walk softly and carry a long lens.™

The Tao of Feathers™

© 2017 Babsje. (https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com)

Great Blue Heron, Kayaking, TCAN, Five Crows

Beautiful Great Blue Heron Gets to the Root of It All

© Babsje (https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com)

Great Blue Heron and Roots – babsjeheron

How long we may have gazed on a particular scenery and think that we have seen and known it, when, at length, some bird or quadruped comes and takes possession of it before our eyes, and imparts to it a wholly new character. The heron uses these shallows as I cannot. I give them up to him.
The Writings of Henry David Thoreau

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Thanks to Jen H and WordPress for this week’s WPC Challenge: Satisfaction/. No two days on the water with the Great Blue Herons are the same. I find it very satisfying that there continue to be ways of seeing with fresh eyes. In more than a dozen years exploring those waters, I had not noticed the exquisite, sun-bleached roots of this tree until the Great Blue drew herself, and my eyes, up to the base of the hill.
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Through July 13, 2017 I was a Featured Artist at the Five Crows Gallery in Natick, MA. Drop in and see the work of the many wonderfully creative artists who show there when you’re in the area.

Five Crows is on FaceBook. To give the gallery a visit, please click here.

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From July 1 through July 30, 2016, I was the Featured Artist of the Month at the Summer Street Gallery. The Great Blue Heron photographs once again graced the walls of the lobby and theater in a one-woman show at The Center for Arts in Natick. In addition to the visual arts shown at the gallery, TCAN has a lively, dynamic lineup of upcoming performing artists.
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Remember: Walk softly and carry a long lens.™

The Tao of Feathers™

© 2017 Babsje. (https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com)

Great Blue Heron, Kayaking, TCAN, Five Crows

Quirky Artist Stories Nbr 12: Five Crows Brick & Mortar Features Great Blue Herons

In these days when anyone can set up an online shop to sell photography, I am proud to be represented by an honest-to-goodness brick & mortar gallery, Five Crows. Owned by a group of dynamic women artists – aka The Crows – the gallery is a true gem, showcasing the works of more than 150 local and regional artists, designers and artisans. Five Crows offers fine art photography, handmade jewelry, original paintings, scarves, stained glass, pottery and a slate of fascinating artist-taught classes. I’m honored to be one of the Featured Artists there this June and July, and to be in the company of the accomplished photographer Beth Hoffer.

Also, a quick thanks to the kind folks at Charles River Canoe & Kayak. Many of the Great Blue Heron photos shown here were taken from the seat of a CRCK kayak.

Maybe this should be filed under shameless self-promotion?

From July 1 through July 30, 2016, I was the Featured Artist of the Month at the Summer Street Gallery. The Great Blue Heron photographs once again graced the walls of the lobby and theater in a one-woman show at The Center for Arts in Natick. In addition to the visual arts shown at the gallery, TCAN has a lively, dynamic lineup of upcoming performing artists.
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Remember: Walk softly and carry a long lens.™

The Tao of Feathers™

© 2017 Babsje. (https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com)

Great Blue Heron, Kayaking, TCAN, Five Crows

Beautiful Great Blue Heron’s Calm Before the Storm (Quirky Artist Stories Nbr 11)

© Babsje (https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com)

Great Blue Heron Sleeping Calmly Before the Storm – babsjeheron

With one eyelid partly open, the Great Blue Heron slept perched on one leg as the kayak slowly drifted past. Heron eyelids close from the bottom up – unlike ours – and they can sleep with an eye slightly open, as a cat will do.

It was exciting to discover where this Heron sleeps, and I took care to stay a healthy distance away as I paddled towards a natural hide in the trees along the shore. Was she aware of my presence across the cove? Perhaps. If she was, she didn’t let on.

Rain was in the forecast, and the lake deserted, calm and serene.

I floated onward to a favorite cove in search of that Heron’s mate. The cove is a narrow finger of water, with thick tree canopy on either side, making it difficult to see the sky for much of the length of the cove.

I was following the other Great Blue from a distance with a telephoto lens and noticed a lot of those plinking circles on the water’s surface that insects and nymphs make.

Belatedly, I realized it wasn’t insects making those circles – it was raindrops.

Quickly, I put my camera it its dry bag, stashed it below decks and paddled rapidly for the boathouse.

When I exited the cove, my kayak was SLAMMED broadside by the fiercest winds I’ve ever experienced – easily gusting greater that 50mph, if not an actual microburst. In moments of heart-pounding terror, I was sure my kayak was going to slam onto the jagged rocks and then roll.

Paddling as though my life depended on it, I steadied the kayak long enough to make it to the mouth of a tunnel, but there was a large powerboat inside, headed straight towards me, and another kayak on the left. The powerboat cut engines and managed to stop along the tunnel wall. He found a handhold in a seam of the concrete the way a rock climber grabs finger-width holds. I snugged my kayak as close to his bow as possible and another motor boat swung in behind me. The three of us waited out the vicious storm together, watching the winds blow sideways at alarming with alarming power.

When the storm abated sufficiently that it was safe to head in, we all did.

And the two Herons? I don’t know where or how they shelter, I just know they came through the storm and were back at their usual territories the next day.

I love happy endings.
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Thanks to Cherie and WordPress for this week’s WPC Challenge: Bridge. My place of refuge from the harrowing storm was a tunnel below a bridge of the Massachusetts Turnpike.
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From now through July 13th, I am a Featured Artist at the Five Crows Gallery in Natick, MA. Drop in and see the work of the many wonderfully creative artists who show there when you’re in the area.

Five Crows is on FaceBook. To give the gallery a visit, please click here.

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From July 1 through July 30, 2016, I was the Featured Artist of the Month at the Summer Street Gallery. The Great Blue Heron photographs once again graced the walls of the lobby and theater in a one-woman show at The Center for Arts in Natick. In addition to the visual arts shown at the gallery, TCAN has a lively, dynamic lineup of upcoming performing artists.
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Remember: Walk softly and carry a long lens.™

The Tao of Feathers™

© 2017 Babsje. (https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com)

Great Blue Heron, Kayaking, TCAN, Five Crows

Great Blue Heron’s Guest Bird of the Day – Beauteous Buteo (Not Art Nbr 13)

© Babsje (https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com)

Two Red Tailed Hawks – babsjeheron

What, you were maybe expecting Great Blue Herons today?

Just as I swung my camera into position, another flash of feathers. Two. TWO Red Tailed Hawks splashing into the lake.

Rounding the corner coming out of the channel, a flash of movement to the left caught my eye. Raising binoculars, I discovered it wasn’t the Canada Goose I had expected to see. It was a Red Tailed Hawk about to launch in to the lake for a cooling bath. Thrilling. Only once before – nine or ten years ago – had I seen a Hawk bathing, and here, at nearly the same spot along the shore, was another.

Just as I swung my camera into position, another flash of feathers. Two. There were TWO Red Tailed Hawks splashing into the lake together, bathing together while cacophonous Blue Jays and Grackles pestered from branches above.

© Babsje (https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com)

Two Red Tailed Hawks Bathing – babsjeheron

File this one under once-in-a-lifetime Hawk encounter.

(We now return to the regularly scheduled Great Blue Heron program. Thanks for indulging my love for Hawks, too.)

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Thanks to Erica V and WordPress for this week’s WPC Challenge: Delta. Compare the mood of the two Red Tailed Hawks in the top photo with that at the bottom. Do you see the change, from excitedly animated when landing in the water to what might be called affectionate, as the hawks bathe together side-by-side, nearly touching beaks. The other, more surprising change, is the shift in this blog from the customary focus on Great Blue Herons to the interloping Red Tailed Hawks just for today.
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From now through July 13th, I am a Featured Artist at the Five Crows Gallery in Natick, MA. Drop in and see the work of the many wonderfully creative artists who show there when you’re in the area.

Five Crows is on FaceBook. To give the gallery a visit, please click here.

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From July 1 through July 30, 2016, I was the Featured Artist of the Month at the Summer Street Gallery. The Great Blue Heron photographs once again graced the walls of the lobby and theater in a one-woman show at The Center for Arts in Natick. In addition to the visual arts shown at the gallery, TCAN has a lively, dynamic lineup of upcoming performing artists.
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Remember: Walk softly and carry a long lens.™

The Tao of Feathers™

© 2017 Babsje. (https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com)

Red Tailed Hawk, Kayaking, TCAN, Five Crows