I went to the Ballston Creek Preserve for the first time tonight. I had read many people talk about it, figured it was close by, so I took a ride over.
I made the short hike to the rookery area and immediately spotted 2 Osprey. As I looked around I began to see multiple Great Blue Heron.
I was surprised to see how close this rookery was to the industrial park and all of the buildings on Route 67. I guess I would have expected a rookery of this expanse to be in a more secluded area.
Initially I wasn't concerned with getting a photo. I was just interested in looking at these great birds. When I raised my camera, with my 80-400, I realized I wasn't going to be able to get a great close up of any of the birds. I looked for some interesting framing in some of the trees and figured I might go home without a good shot. All of a sudden a Heron flew into sight from the left part of this frame and as I squinted into the sun I knew I had a nice opportunity. I would have liked to get this Heron in a better "pose" but perhaps I'll focus on that next time.
