May was a very busy and productive month. The second Louisiana Bird Photography Tour was a wonderful success. While like the first tour, the weather forecast was not the best, we danced around the rain and made some wonderful images. Only the morning of the second day was a rain out and we spent the time editing images and working with the computer making very productive use of our time.
Cattle Egrets Working Together to Build their Nest
Jefferson Island
We visited Jefferson Island multiple times as the overcast skys was an advantage reducing the contrast problems experienced on bright sunny days there and the ability to get out of the rain rapidly was a definite advantage given the rain potential. Although we weren't cut short there like we were on the first trip. As with the first trip we were rewarded with many nice images.
Osprey in Flight with Fish
Henderson
The first day we visited Henderson Swamp. Using the covered boat, we were able to work around several light rain showers. With Overcast skys, we photographed Osprey in flight and exposed to allow the sky go white and properly expose the bird. This allowed us to make some very nice images in spite of the weather and less than ideal light. We also got some nice shots of a yellow crowned night heron on it's nest. Again the overcast skys worked to our advantage in the cypress trees where it was nesting. As always picking the best site for the conditions maximizes the opportunities.
Osprey in Flight
Cow Island Lake
The Atchafalaya River was very high, allowing us to get into Cow Island Lake, the first time I've been there in 4 years. I really like photographing there as you can get images of Osprey against a green background rather than blue sky. The weather had improved by then and we had sunshine for most of the shoot and we again got some nice images.
Least Bittern
Miller's Lake
On the final day we went to Miller's Lake. Always trying to save the best for last shooting conditions were great and the number of birds was astounding. We got some nice shots of all the normal species of egrets and herons, with excellent shots of Tricolor Herons and a least bittern. I mistakingly put my D800 IR converted camera in the boat bag instead of my D810 I use for landscapes, but that turned out to be a plus as I was able to also capture a number of very nice IR images and use my D500 bird camera to also capture a few landscapes.