Birds at Lincoln Marsh in Wheaton, IL

Lincoln Marsh is a restored natural area containing marshes, savannas, woodlands, and even prairies. I decided to focus my photography on marsh birds.

The larger marsh birds are Great Blue Herons and Great White Egrets. Herons and Egrets are ambush predators. They stand very quietly in water waiting for an unwary fish or crustacean to swim by. This stalking behavior makes them relatively easy to photograph. I took a lot of heron and egret pictures.

The Killdeer, hunting on the mud flats, blended in with the mud and was difficult to see.

Despite their size, Great Blue Herons are a challenge to photograph. They avoid humans and blend in with the shoreline foliage.

A Great Blue Heron with a meal, an unfortunate fish

A pair of ducks – word play intended

Although smaller than Great Blue Herons, Great White Egrets are easier to photograph. These egrets are less wary and are very visible.

The guideline for photographing birds is to focus on the eye and try to capture the catch light in the eye. I think that herons and egrets don’t have a catch light. (Neither do fish.) Catch light is light reflecting from the cornea of the eye.

Great White Egret - classic hunting pose