NJFrank Loc: New Jersey

I guess i was at the right place at the right time

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MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

Hi Frank. I am pretty certain that your image is of a Great Blue Heron, not a Grey Heron. GBHs are native to the U.S. Grey Heron are not.

NJFrank Loc: New Jersey

Thanks for the heads up.I Googled grey heron and the pictures seemed to match up. I am far from being a bird expert.

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

No worries. They certainly do look quite a bit alike. I have lots of experience shooting GBH down at the southern tip of our fair state. And just to let you know - I’m no expert.

dcampbell52 Loc: Clearwater Fl

LOL!! you are correct. I was about to give a similar reply. In florida, we have lots of "great blues" and also little blues. Getting the exact and correct bird name can be very challenging (especially when the same bird may be called a different name in various areas). Fortunately, this wasn't a case of multiple names for the same species.

NJFrank Loc: New Jersey

Well UHH is a learning environment in more ways than one. Learned something today. Next time I post I will use the generic term heron

dcampbell52 Loc: Clearwater Fl

LOL! not necessary.. we (well I) wasn't being demeaning but was trying to share. And, sometimes, this is how we learn. Personally, I REALLY got into birding shortly after moving to Florida. You can't throw a rock down here without hitting a nature preserve. And, the various state conservation groups all provide anyone that asks the same posters depicting various species of birds, reptiles, animals, insects and butterflies. I probably have 20 or 30 of the 16x20 posters that you see at the parks. Now, I have the birding books on my phone.. also there is a great (and free) app called All Trails for I-phone and Android. It uses GPS and gives you a list of all of the trails in your area. It shows all of the amenities on the trail and even uses GPS to show you where you are on a specific trail. Found it in the Android "Play Store".
Here is the internet website for desktop/laptops. http://www.alltrails.com/

NJFrank Loc: New Jersey

Here's

Thanks for all the great info. I will certainly have to give those apps a go. BTW I didn't take your response as demeaning. All is good

Rab-Eye Loc: Indiana

Not to hijack the thread, but is the only way to learn to identify birds memorizing pictures from a book?

dcampbell52 Loc: Clearwater Fl

NO.... and the identification I use is a cell phone app. So I can easily compare my photos to the photos in the app. I so have the cell phone at the shoot and if I see something interesting, I can look it up... but I "might" miss another great shot while doing it. Most photographers have "common sense" and use it. If you have time and want to look it up, you can.. BUT, you are shooting images.. you can ALWAYS look later. However, by referring to a knowledgeable app, birding sites, etc., it gives me (you) the ability to correctly identify the subject of your shoot. Sure, I still have difficulty with the difference between the snowy egret and the cattle egret (I have a snowy egret.. white with white feather plume on head that hangs down it's neck and yellow feet) with the cattle egret that has the same look but black feet. Also, to really confuse the issue, the snowy egret supposedly will mate with several other species of egret, creating mixed breed birds.... (this is a observation that was made by the Cornell lab of ornithology but seems to be true as I've seen some birds with mixed plumage that I haven't been able to find in the guides).
So, no. My comment is that you are shooting digital, get the shots and then look it up while on the shoot or wait until you upload and process the image.

Rab-Eye Loc: Indiana

I certainly didn’t mean to suggest identifying birds while shooting, but you’ve given me some good information. Thank you.

NJFrank Loc: New Jersey

My first concern is to get the shot, not IDing the bird . At home I Googled herons, since I knew that much of what kind of bird it was. It appears my labeling it a grey heron was wrong. From the Google image it looked like a match. I guess I fall into shoot first ask questions later, lol
Thank you all for the information. Information is power and that is always a good thing.

Rab-Eye Loc: Indiana

Please, nothing in my question implied identifying a bird while out photographing. I was asking about indentifying afterwards.

NJFrank Loc: New Jersey

No worries, I didn't take it as you were implying to stop shooting to try and match up the image right away.

Rab-Eye Loc: Indiana

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