This is a Yellow Crowned Night Heron standing on the banks of the canal on which I live. He stands about 2.5 feet tall and put on a full performance for me one afternoon as the sun was setting. He had lots to sing about.....he and the Mrs. had three children! Actually, he was just stretching, not singing. Their call sounds more like a bark than a bird call. For several weeks I watched them build the nest, one stick/branch at a time on the most outer limb of a pine tree that lines the canal. Sadly one of their babies fell out of the nest into the canal and a hawk snagged him; you can imagine the rest. It was very upsetting for me as well, as I have been following their every move for the last year. To top it off, what was left of the baby's carcass was flown across the canal into my back yard and left by my pool. It was quite an ordeal for me to say the least. Thankfully, my husband removed it so I wouldn't have to. Back to the proud papa, he was perusing the shoreline looking for land crabs which are abundant this time of year. They dwell in the mud banks on shore just before the water line. The heron will also look for small fish in the canal which is brackish (a mix of both fresh water and sea water). Everything from Mullet to Catfish to Manatees can be found here. So, between the crabs and the fish it's a Heron's fantasy.

CAMERA - Canon EOS 60D
F-STOP - f/5.6
EXPOSURE - 1/250 sec
ISO - 100
EXPOSURE BIAS - 0 step
FOCAL LENGTH - 135 mm
MAX APERTURE -
SHOOTING MODE - Automatic
HAND HELD - Yes
TRIPOD - No
MONO-POD - No
FLASH - No