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Black-crowned night heron Expand text

Black-crowned night heron, probably the only heron that is said to feed at night. Allegedly, because we watched them feeding also at noon when it was hot. But, as it was our first encounter with a representative of this species we woke up at 2 o'clock in the morning to be ready at 3 o'clock and waited in the darkness for black-crowned night herons to arrive. And it was worth it. Around 3:30 the first bird appeared. Then second, third, fourth ... It was still very dark, and without the light of the lantern standing nearby there would be nothing to see. Black-crowned night herons took hunting positions on numerous rocks in the creek. It was cool in the morning so mist hovered quite intensely. It was an amazing view of black-crowned night herons frozen motionless in the water vapor in the darkness of the night. It was not easy to photograph them, it is hard to say what ISO I had to use to take a picture, and of so poor quality. That is why this section of our photo session goes to the information part only. And then the most anxious waiting time, doubts if the birds would continue feeding at sunrise, would I finally take my first shots of the black-crowned night heron. Well, maybe not the first, because I had the opportunity to watch them twice, but the pictures that were taken then could not make the gallery of this beautiful bird. If they were so good hunters that they were going to be full before dawn, then all our efforts would be meaningless. Especially because there was countless number of fish in the creek. Some of the smarter birds located near fish passes and there they were waiting for fish that occasionally tried to cross the water sill. You can see the photo of the fish jumping I included in the gallery. The photos from the fish pass with the urbanized background are not suitable for the gallery. Fortunately, the birds accompanied us several hours, occasionally they were coming so close to our lookout point that the 300mm lens turned out to be too long and the bird did not fit in the frame. In the morning, when lighting conditions were poor, the way the birds behaved made it easier to photograph them. They were still frozen, watching the water closely. Even long exposure times made it possible to produce sharp images with beautifully blurred rushing water. So many good pictures were taken that their selection for the gallery was very difficult. Especially because watching the herons when hunting was so exciting. So close encounter with such an extraordinary and a little mysterious nocturnal bird species remains in memory for long time. A full, quite unique gallery of the black-crowned night heron with a soundtrack has been created. It was not easy to record its voice. The herons did not give sounds often and moreover the sound of water running made a rather cumbersome acoustic background. I decided to benefit from the time of waiting for sunrise for more than an hour. The directional microphone was turned on for about an hour, and from such a long recording the soundtrack of a few voices was made, what is important for the gallery to be complete. I have succeeded once again in observing and taking photos of the birds that were somewhere in my photographic plans. In my case with scarce time resources it would be difficult to realize these photographic dreams without other people and their help. That is why I send my thanks to Peter and Halina for the invitation for such an exceptional photo session. Without your kindness I would still admire the black-crowned night heron’s photos on other people websites. Regards and thank you.
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I’ve uploaded one photo in the black-crowned night heron’s gallery, which presents young specimens of this species. In Poland, despite observing many herons, I didn’t see any young specimens during my photo sessions. In Tanzania, who knows, maybe I took pictures of Polish young and adult herons that migrate there for winter?
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