Drone views traversing a section of the Devils River and Dolan Creek within The Nature Conservancy's Dolan Falls Preserve, bounded on the north by the Devils River State Natural Area and on the south by private ranchland. Val Verde County, Texas.

Tags:   Devils River Dolan Falls Preserve The Nature Conservancy aerial drone landscape nature Val Verde County Texas gseloff

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A Black Phoebe brings food and takes care of housekeeping chores for its three hatchlings on a small ledge in the rocks below Dolan Falls on the Devils River. Apologies for the harsh lighting and exposure.

Tags:   Black Phoebe bird flight feeding nest hatchlings poop sac removal rock nature wildlife Dolan Falls Devils River Val Verde County Texas The Nature Conservancy gseloff

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A Green Heron will typically rely on leg strength alone to recover its perch after a strike on baitfish from above, but sometimes the angle and distance require or benefit from a wing assist. I observed this bird in Alligator Alley (Horsepen Bayou) for about half an hour as it fished from three different perches before finally getting its fill and settling into its morning preening routine. The first first perch was low to the water and quite productive until it was commandeered away by a juvenile Tricolored Heron. The second perch was low but not so productive, so the bird moved onto the branches of this dead tree, covered in lichens and Spanish moss. The branch it chose presented a wide target area but pushed the bird nearly to the limits of its reach. Of the 10 or 15 strikes it made from here, most of the recoveries involved wing assists; one resulted in a fly-around; and one, an unintended dip in the drink.

Slow motion rendering recorded on a Sony A9, FE200-600mm G lens at about 360mm, ISO 2,000.

Tags:   Green Heron bird feeding stretch strike water splash lichen Spanish moss nature wildlife Horsepen Bayou Alligator Alley Pasadena Texas Sony A9 FE200-600mm kayak gseloff

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A leisurely stroll along babbling Bluff Springs turns into a high-flying venture in the Lincoln National Forest near Sunspot, New Mexico.

Tags:   Bluff Springs waterfall landscape forest nature Lincoln National Forest Otero County New Mexico Rio Peñasco NM gseloff

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Video is not my forte and this one was shot before sunrise with a fully-extended 400mm lens on a kayak. But with that said, it gives a fair sense of what it is like on Armand Bayou when the menhaden are thick and the herons are hungry. While I try to empathize with the baitfish, I can't help but laugh when every dip of the paddle into the water produces a similar explosion.

Tags:   bird feeding menhaden baitfish video strike nature wildlife Armand Bayou Pasadena Texas kayak gseloff Little Blue Heron

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