29 January, 2012

Kayaking with Dennis

Dawn came with a silky stillness in the primordial air.  

Gentle undulations rock the sea like a faint heartbeat, punctuated by the silent passage of egrets skimming the surface.
To the north, the sky clears as dawn breaks free of the low clouds and day begins in earnest.  
A day made for kayaking, slipping soundlessly along the water's surface, at one with the natural world.  Dennis and I head toward the sunlight in the north, easing in and out of passages amongst the mangroves.
We glide up to herons, like this yellow-crowned night heron.
Alert to our prescence, this yellow-crowned night heron is not unduly agitated.
OK, you are getting into my personal space here.
A little too close for comfort; I am out of here...
Way back in the marsh we saw a flash of peacock blues and greens.  What on earth?  It flew into the heavy mangrove tangle and walked from root to root, always keeping on the far side of vegetation, giving us only glimpses of a bird with a heron-like neck and bill but with a bulky, turkey-like, body.  It cautiously peeked out at us, seemingly as curious about us as we were about it. I got a couple of shots in hopes of being able to key it out later.  I succeeded in capturing the world's worst photos of the world's most beautiful bird - the Agami Heron.  Click here for the world's best photos of this fabulous bird.
I marked the tip of its beak with a purple arrow and its eye with a vertical arrow. Doesn't seem possible, does it?  But you can see it again in the next shot.
And again vertical arrow marks the eye and the horizontal one marks the tip of the beak.  The unusually long beak is one of the Agami's identifying characteristics.
Better luck in photographing a juvenile green heron.
The gloom of the tangled vegetation can't hide this lovely bird, but doesn't do much for the photo.  :-(
It very nicely cooperated and turned its streaked breast toward the camera.
We'll be back for more of that Agami heron and perhaps to see the green heron mature.
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18 comments:

  1. Hey Wilma, those first three scenes are absolutely stunning.
    A pleasure to look at.

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    1. Glad you like them, Roy. I love those still, early mornings.

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  2. Loving the photo of the bird launching itself from the tree. Spot on!
    I hope you can take the time to visit my blog
    www.valleysshutterbug.blogspot.com

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    1. Thanks, Shaun. I'll sure take a look at your blog.

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  3. Wow, that Agami Heron is one beautiful Bird. I hope you have better luck in the future with photographing that bird.

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    1. Getting photos that show its beauty is near the top of my list! Thanks for commenting.

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  4. Wonderful images Wilma.
    Floating in sounds like a wonderful way to view the wildlife.

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    1. Thanks, Andrew. It is peaceful and serene, plus you get to sit the whole time!

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  5. That Yellow Crowned Night Heron is one weird looking bird..............

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    1. It is a strange one, Stu. I have some more photos of possibly this one that I took another day that I will post soon. It looks like it is eyeing me, thinking "that is one weird human floating in that yellow boat ..."

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  6. Beautiful images showing both the landscape and the birds.

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    1. Thank you, Mun. It is such a pleasure to be out there with the birds.

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  7. What a great way to see the wildlife.
    Had a look at the link; the Agami Heron is a beauty. Hope you get to see him again.

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    1. I am really looking forward to spending more time with that Agami. ;-) Now that I know where it lives, that won't be too hard to do.

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  8. Great shots of the Heron taking flight and of the juvenile.

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    1. Thanks, John. There will be more shots of the yellow-crowned night heron coming soon.

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  9. Wow magnificent Wilma, both by the splendid scenery you offer us and by the variety of heron you showed us. Well done on the spotting of the agami heron... You might see it again and get nice pictures ;-)

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    1. I hope I do have the good fortune to see that Agami Heron again, Chris. Glad you enjoyed the scenery.

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