Reddish Egret Fishing
I’m always amazed at how good Reddish Egrets are at catching fish. They dart around with their wings extended and almost always come up with a fish. Other shore birds tend to stand around and watch as these guys are getting their stomachs full. I thought that last weekend was going to be a bust at Bolivar but it turned out to be one of my best Reddish Egret outings to date. There were tons of people camping out on the beach and lots of wade fisherman in the water off of the beach, which is not a good combination for bird photography. The beach was also not cooperating. About 75% of the beach was covered in several inches of dead seaweed, which I haven’t seen in this area before. It was also high tide which is the worst time to go. However, with wanting to try out my new 500 F4 IS II lens, I wasn’t going to wait.
Got some silhouette shots at sunrise and then headed down the beach to see if any Peregrine Falcons were around. No dice on the falcons so I headed back towards the car. A Reddish Egret was standing on the lone exposed sand bar near the parking area. He flew back down the beach so I followed him around for a while. Didn’t have much luck and ended up back at the sand bar and laid down to get some Willet shots. Then the fun began. Three Reddish Egrets then showed up to fish in my area with one being right in front of me. Good times were had by all of the local critters, especially me.
Taken with Canon 7D and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens, 1.4x III teleconverter, mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley gimbal head.
1/400 sec @ F7.1, ISO 400, evaluative metering, + 1 exposure compensation
1/400 sec @ F7.1, ISO 400, evaluative metering, + 1 exposure compensation
1/500 sec @ F7.1, ISO 400, evaluative metering, + 1 exposure compensation
Tim Timmis Photography 
Yep. I definitely think you are getting the hang of the new gear. I like the last two best, but think #1 is kinda unique with the egret chasing down the fish. It’s amazing how much detail you get with the new 500mm, huh?
August 20, 2012 at 9:06 pm
#2 is awesome.
Have you updated to the new 7d firmware?
August 21, 2012 at 12:09 am
Thanks Doug. I’m liking the new lens a lot. I’ve taken about 10,000 shots with it so far and can’t wait to go out again.
August 21, 2012 at 5:12 am
Thanks Dan. Just wish that I wouldn’t have clipped his wing but he was too close for 700mm. I did update the 7D firmware. Getting 25 shots in a burst using RAW. It’s a nice change.
August 21, 2012 at 5:14 am
Outstanding Tim. That lens is working out great !!!!!
August 21, 2012 at 8:12 am
Man, all I could think of driving in to work this morning was “look at that golden sunrise”. Sure would have been nice sitting on the water shooting birds with new camera and 500mm.
August 21, 2012 at 12:36 pm