The Heron Quest continues

I see it on the riverside
I stop for my camera and away it does glide
I see it in tree just ten feet away
I reach for the camera and it flies away
I see it on the other side of the water
I take a picture but the focus will faulter
Bloody Heron!

I have am having an ongoing struggle to get a shot of a heron taking to flight. I like the way they are so jurassic. I have some decent shots of one at Marwell that was not bothered by people and wandering about at the pond but I feel that they don't really count. What I want is a wild one, and near where I work they always tease me.

Today I went for a strole with the camera as a break from a tough day. There was not a lot to see apart from a cat and some pigs. Just as I was getting near to the end of the walk I turned to look at a rotting old tree not more than ten feet away and there standing on its branch was a heron.

As I reached for the camera it took off and swooped around me on to a field at which point a man and his dog scared it off again. Whilst looking to see where it had gone I saw two foxes leaping about, spot me and dive for cover before I could get a shot of them too.

So I started off back to the office and as I went along the river there on the other side was the heron at a dark little inlet to the river. I snapped away whilst it moved about before taking flight into the distance and landing in another tree. The shade of the inlet meant the shots were not great but I then got some of the little tinker in the tree it landed in.

I will get him a bit closer next time, oh yes I will!