Today at White Bear Marina Dock

I usually walk with a group of guys about 4 miles along the west side of White Bear Lake in the morning then we sit and chat at the dock over coffee for an hour. Today, after our walk and coffee, I tried again to get some shots of Barn Swallows. Rather than trying to catch them flitting about in the air, I decided to use Pro Capture and catch them as they take off. I'm pretty happy with a couple of the series I got.

I also caught this Red Winged Blackbird taking off the same way.

There was also a Green Heron stalking the dock. I was in single shot mode and anticipated him diving for a fish which he started to do but then stopped, so my shot cut of a little of his tail ...

The lily pads have started blossoming, so ...

A bragger and show off Jim!!! Eight miles each morning! No wonder you can do those hikes! It has been a long time since I have been on a lengthy hike and none of those was 8 mi! I think we did a 6 km one last year in Newfoundland. This year that would not happen. My wife's knee is not doing well after the two surgeries last fall and winter. No idea where that is heading but hopefully they get it sorted. My back is questionable for long walks but some days it would be possible but others, not so much.

You did really well with the swallow images. They are great! What is the bird before the heron? I don't recognise it with certainty. I will not guess since you have become a birder and will rely on you to tell me! I like water lilies. They are difficult to make great images from. I have tried but they never come out as I would like.

Andrew

Thanks Andrew.
That's a female Red Winged Blackbird. I first thought she had straw in her mouth, thinking she was nest building like the swallows, but on a closer look, it appears to be a dragonfly.

You should be here this weekend. The "Back to the Fifties" car show is going on at the state fairgrounds. Should be over 10,000 old cars - nothing newer than 1964 allowed, and NO Mustangs!

That should have said 4 miles, not 8.

That would be a great show to see Jim! That is a lot of vehicles!

Andrew

Nice catches of the swallows, Jim. I see them here but worry about whiplash trying to follow them. I like the color of that heron, ours aren't that colorful.
Do you walk four miles carrying the 100-400?
I read your post about the car show. It's a big one and I would love to see it. Rich

No! We walk this pretty fast, just over an hour, no stopping for photos, no point to carry it, and, I wouldn't want to walk that fast with it. I've walked further than that carrying it, but not on my morning exercise walk. A couple times I've brought the camera and lens, left it in the car while we walk and taken it out to try and shoot while we sit and have coffee, but that doesn't work as none of the other guys are into photography so I seem anti-social when I do that. My photography is mostly an individual activity. Though my wife tolerates it and is a pretty good spotter when we go on a birding hike together.

Thanks. I tried getting them flying and had the same whiplash problem as you. These were picking stuff out of the mud by the shore (probably building the second nest of the year, or repairing the first in preparation for another brood) so I lined up on them with ProCap while they were pecking around and clicked the shutter as soon as I saw them take off (SH2 w/100-400 should be 25fps) so got a few frames before they left my field of view, then cropped to suit.

Very nice well done .. I'm envious of your light as you kept the shutter speed up and the ISO down .... In summer I'm rarely below ISO3200 and usually at 6400 and still underexposing with SS less than 1/3000sec...

WhyNot

Thanks WN. It was a very bright sunny morning and from the dock back to the shore there was nothing to block the light. Unusual for me. Seems I'm usually trying to shoot backlit subjects or ones in deep shade.