Canon EOS 7D (400mm, f/5.6, 1/1600 sec, ISO320)
Small portion of rookery with nesting Great Egrets.
Every year at this time, the rookery at Lake Martin is filled with nesting Great Egrets, Cattle Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Roseate Spoonbills, and Little Blue Herons. Last week Donnette and I visited Lake Martin to check out this year’s population. The photo above shows a few of the hundreds of nests occupied by birds.
To get an idea of the size of the rookery, click on this link for a panoramic view of the portion of the rookery visible from our vantage point: Panorama. Although not very clear in detail, this image shows the approximately 90-degree view of the rookery from our location on Rookery Road. Nests are visible as far as one can see into the dense trees. The pink shapes barely visible in the background of the left center of the panorama are Roseate Spoonbills nesting over 300 feet away from the camera.
The most visible nesting birds were the Great Egrets. In the photo below, a pair seems to be exchanging greetings as one partner has just flown in. They subsequently settled together in the nest.
Canon EOS 7D (400mm, f/6.3, 1/2000 sec, ISO400)
Greeting between two Great Egrets.
Here is another Great Egret spending a large amount of time in a cypress tree looking for just the right twig needed for its nest. It eventually flow off with its treasure.
Canon PowerShot SX50 HS (215mm, f/6.5, 1/1250 sec, ISO320)
Great Egret searching for a twig for its nest.
As mentioned above, Roseate Spoonbills’ nests were the farthest from our vantage point. This was about the best shot I could get of a nesting pair.
Canon PowerShot SX50 HS (215mm, f/6.5, 1/500 sec, ISO200)
Nesting Roseate Spoonbills.
Little Blue Herons nested closer to us but in dense brush that reduced their visibility.
Canon PowerShot SX50 HS (215mm, f/6.5, 1/500 sec, ISO200)
Little Blue Herons nesting.
Here, a Little Blue Heron and a Snowy Egret are apparently in a border dispute, while a nearby Blue Heron seems indifferent to the confrontation.
Canon EOS 7D (235mm, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec, ISO320)
Little Blue Heron and Snowy Egret quarreling.
In addition to nesting, some birds were occasionally flying. Two “birds in flight” photos are shown below.
Canon EOS 7D (400mm, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec, ISO160)
Cattle Egret flying over rookery.
Canon EOS 7D (400mm, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec, ISO200)
Roseate Spoonbill in full wing extension.
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The location from which these photos were taken is shown on the map below. Zoom in for more detail.
Wonderful photos, Dwynn. I see that you now have the SX50. How does it compare to the SX40??
Thanks for the compliment, Bob. For these photos, when I needed more zoom than that provided by my 7D/100-400mm combo, the 1200mm equivalent FL of the SX50 was very handy. Since it was a bright sunny day, the poor low-light performance of the SX50 (also characteristic of the SX40) did not come into play. The SX50 is better than the SX40 in focusing speed, zoom, and a few other areas; however, it has the same poor electronic viewfinder and is therefore almost useless for birds in flight. Also, a big factor for me is that the SX50 produces RAW files, whereas the SX40 does not.
Too bad that they can’t do something about that electronic view-finder they would really have a winner. But I do like that it can shoot RAW. I don’t plan on up-grading from the SX40 yet, I had heard good things about the SW50. Lillian Stokes had very nice words about it.
You, I, and many reviewers totally agree about the EVF, but it seems the bridge/superzoom camera manufacturers aren’t listening to us. Some new cameras just below the DSLR class have only an LCD screen and NO viewfinder. I guess those manufacturers assume most customers will operate their cameras like an iPhone camera.
Really good work! I am impressed with the shots you got with the SX50. As you stated, I think the secret to all of the point and shoot cameras is exceptionally good light. The picture of the blue and the white fighting is particularly good. You also did very well on the birds in flight. I’m impressed!
Thanks,Cypress. It was one of those days when the light was there and the birds were there, so if photos came out bad, you knew the reason. You only saw some of my good ones.
I really enjoyed playing around with that panorama, Dwynn. This rookery must be an absolutely incredible place. I especially enjoyed the shot of the aerial combat between the heron and egret.
Glad you enjoyed it, Ron. I’ve found displaying panoramas to be tricky. Some, like this one, seem to look better displayed as flat projections, while others, like those in my earlier post (http://dwynnlafleur.com/CapturedPhotons-1/2012/09/15/panoramas/), look better as cylindrical projections. Clearly, I don’t fully understand this subject. And, yes, this rookery is great to visit. There are several other similar rookeries in southern Louisiana, but Lake Martin is only a half-hour drive from our home.