Green Heron

Green Heron on May 21, 2021. With the pandemic, I had not travelled much or far for photography and stayed close to home working on smaller birds and macro between March 2020 and March 2021. Being fully vaccinated within the past month, I did not want a second year of heron season to go to waste. Green Herons had returned to several of my favorite spots for photographing and observing. I don't often see them up in the trees and when they are, they are usually backlit at this location. This particular heron allowed me to walk underneath the branches for a better angle and the sun behind me. A nearby child yelling scared it up there but my presence was fine, staying up there for a few minutes before flying off down the stream.

This is my favorite Green Heron shot by a hefty margin for 2021, potentially even my favorite shot of the year, and will be hard to top. The colors of the heron work well against the leaves in the background, making the heron "pop".

Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 420mm on Nikon D500