What the – is that a heron on the pool?

[Dennis]

Hello,

Drawing the curtains this morning, I blinked – is that a heron by the pool? I called Narelle, hastening to add it’s not 1st April.

I grabbed the WO 80mm, the WO 2” extender, a Bintel supplied Orion 2” extender, a T2 adapter and the Pentax *ist DS and set up in the window. The WO focuser was drooping with the weight of the DSLR and the chain of adapters, but in the end, the photos were quite pleasing.

The bird was approx 15 metres away for these images. He/she spent a leisurely 15 mins cleaning, preening and bemoaning the lack of fish in the pool!

Cheers

Dennis

[iceman]

Wow, great images Dennis! Great to see some more terrestrial stuff from you - always clean, sharp and very enjoyable.

[ving]

how inconsiderate of you to not have fish in teh pool! :D

nice looking birds arent they :)

[h0ughy]

NIce Dennis. whats it like to have your own personal swamp and birdy?

[Dennis]

Thanks guys - we had three wood ducks land on the pool the other day.....they each left a calling card. Landing on water seems to automatically activate their waste Shute and they poohed in the pool.

They would have been forgiven, and not chased away, if they had a brood of cute ducklings with them.

I guess these sights and experiences are a reasonable substitute for the lack of astronomy due to the cloud cover up here.

Cheers

Dennis

[Tamtarn]

Fantastic shots Dennis

We can see how your good equipment can make pictures seem to come to life :eyepop: :eyepop:

[Dennis]

Thanks for those nice words Tamtarn. I was very lucky that the heron seemed quite settled so the relatively slow shutter speed didn’t cause too much blurring. It was simply breathtaking to see him/her so close up through the viewfinder.

The details in the feathers and their subtle colours and varied shades were simply gorgeous. We both felt blessed to have had those few, quiet moments with such a beautiful creature.

I felt even more blessed by the results, as I had the Orion 2” adapter sticking out, about ½ way of the WO 2” adapter in order to get to focus. With the tripod sinking into the carpet, the long extension train and the focuser droop, it was a miracle I got anything at all.

Cheers

Dennis

[RB]

Excellent photos Dennis, thank you for sharing.


I know the feeling, you feel sure that any moment your gear will collapse to the floor under the strain. :eyepop: