Heron in Flight
So this has an interesting story, both positive and unfortunately negative.
I’ll start with the negative because I feel like that’s what the regular person visiting nature and enjoying life needs to know.
I’d been sitting and observing this heron for about three hours at this point, working my way close enough to it, inch-by-inch (literally). I was making a zigzag pattern to get into the good light and that took twenty minutes to move six feet. I didn’t want to spook it and I didn’t want it to feel threatened.
Getting close to wildlife is hard on a good day. This particular morning I was struggling to find anything good to photograph and having this heron come in close enough was a blessing from the good Lord!
Then comes a douchebag. If that term offends you, you probably shouldn’t hear the other words I used to describe the following individual.
Naturally, when you’re in a public fishing area, you’re going to deal with other people. No big deal. Everyone’s out enjoying nature, fishing, and having a good time. Except Douchebag. Douchebag walked through the woods and down the path to the sandbar that was set up on. He walked all around the sandbar and took his time, again, enjoying nature. When he was coming close to where I was set up, with the big 600mm lens attached to my camera, having seen me doing my inch-by-inch approach, Douchebag decided to pick up a rock and throw it at the heron.
So the heron, who had not felt threatened the entire time I was getting closer (and in fact began posing the closer I got), took off flying. I threw my hands in the air only after I caught this gorgeous bird in flight.
“Are you kidding me, dude?” I shouted. Douchebag just shrugged.
Moral of the story: DON’T BE A DOUCHEBAG.