Thursday, February 24, 2011

Ballet in the Sky

As we get close to the end of February I begin to anticipate the return of the great blue herons to this area. There are a couple of heron rookeries here in the Twin Cities that begin to see life again by about the middle of March.
Most often when I see herons they are in the water on land near water. There large size and long legs make them appear kind of gangly, kind of the like the kid in grade school that grew so fast that they did not quite know how to control their own body.
Herons at the rookery are quite the opposite. They seem to float in the air like a leaf, suspended in time, until they land daintily, toes first with the grace of a ballet dancer, on a tiny twig.

27 comments:

Jen said...

They seem oddly graceful -- these are great photos!

Frostbite and Sunburn said...

Great "action" shots - awkward and graceful at the same time!

Pearl Maple said...

Great photos of nature and the dance, lucky to get to see them up close like that

Sylvia K said...

Nature's ballet dancers! Doesn't get any better -- particularly with such marvelous, blue skies! Terrific captures as always! Have a wonderful weekend!

Sylvia

Eaglesbrother said...

Great photo's of movement....and a Blue sky included.
It seems a bird to large and awkward looking could not fly...but I know from experience they fly just wonderfully.

Kay L. Davies said...

Amazing photos!
-- K

Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

syel said...

fantastic "action" captures of the heron! the third photo seems like the one below is watching the one ascending :)

Karen said...

Wonderful, the movement, the compositions and the sky!

KaHolly said...

Pretty incredible series of photos. I live across the harbor from a rookery and last spring had the dubious honor of being there when they arrived! I was so impressed because it was one of the windiest days of spring and they had to fight to get there. You could see how tired they were. It made me tear up to know that they were finally home! ~karen

lotusleaf said...

I am at a loss for words. I can only say feebly, WOW!

Mike B. said...

Our heron rookery is in full swing- pairs are everywhere standing on their nests!

Liz said...

Cool shots. Happy sky watching!

Liz @ A Simple Life

Anonymous said...

Wow - what beautiful and graceful dancers! Astounding shots.

forgetmenot said...

Amazing shots--you are a great photographer. Nice post. Mickie

Jidhu Jose said...

awesome shots
happy SWF

Stewart M said...

One of the (many) things I like about WBW is that it puts me in touch with different parts of the world - and the different seasons.

Your pictures speak of spring as my mind turns to autumn!

Cheers Stewart M - Australia

Joyful said...

The heron photos are stupendous. You've managed to capture the bird in flight. Very nice :-)

Tarun Mitra said...

Amazing well timed capture

From The Heart said...

Beautiful pictures! Thanks for posting.
Happy Skywatch!
Shirley

Arija said...

Wonderful captures of these unexpectedly graceful birds.

Antonina said...

Thanks for sharing the photos.

Kristin said...

Wonderful Skywatch. Graceful flight and spectacular dance by the herons.

Dhemz said...

oh my! I enjoy watching the photos....nice...lots of action going on....:)

Check out my SkyWatch Friday entry too. Thanks!

Míriam Luiza said...

Que fotos maravilhosas! Nunca vi algo assim! Você é um felizardo por presenciar esta cena1

D said...

great photos, but hysterical! we have many herons but never have we seen one perform like that.. except once when the neighbor's cat decided to stalk one and it was amazing to see it lift off straight up in the air. Simply love your photos.

Lisa said...

Love the photos of the heron!

Amila said...

What great moments to capture, WOW!