The Goose Is Cooked

By Jim Porter Casey

• January 17, 2018

This Big Bird is the fastest slow moving animal I have ever seen.

I’ve been trying to cook this goose for two years. It’s the fastest slow moving animal I have ever seen. If I approach from the left, immediately upon entering her field of view, she flies to the right. If I approach from the right, she’s gone just as quickly to the left. This morning I went out back thinking I’d try one more time with the snow to make a good backdrop. I had the camera pointed where I expected she’d be, and as soon as she could see me, off she went. Actually, she seemed a little slower than normal today because I might have seen her an instant sooner, but because of the snow, she was totally camouflaged. I had the camera set on fully automatic and didn’t have time to do anything but point and shoot, and of course, it’s not the perfect shot.

I think this is one of the birds that I did photograph late at night once before and which appear in another article, [ Blue Herons ], and on a previous TOCC.tv cover. I guess it is a Blue Heron, but this one is a loner as opposed to the three featured in the previous articles. There have been two other types of large long legged birds in the area, one has a brown motif and looks about this same as this one. The others are white and I think they are strays from the Whooping Cranes known to gather at Wheeler Wildlife Refuge. I have seen some of the white crane juveniles nearby lately also.

This page has an associated TOCC TV cover

As it boils down, this Blue Heron gets away nearly every time because it has eyes in the back of it’s head. The saying goes that birds of a feather flock together. But don’t be fooled, different kinds of birds look out for each other too. This photo is of what I now refer to as the “rat bird” because the little thing went crazy toady sounding the alarm as I first started looking for the big bird. I’m sure that’s why the Blue Heron is always on the ready and takes off immediately, if not sooner, whenever I’m attempting to get a shot.

________________________
© 2018 – Jim Casey
TOCC.tv Red HOT Uploads

MAGAZINE

Skittish Long Legged Birds

By

Jim Porter Casey • February 26, 2021
Editorials • Photography • Slide Show

These birds are hard to photograph but I keep trying.

Everyone Has Egrets

By

Jim Porter Casey • August 30, 2018
Photography

The Great White Egrets have been hanging around and gave me an opportunity to get a few more shots at a closer range. This girl is quite a floozy, as you can see, she’s not just giving leg, she’s showing a rather tasty looking thigh too!

The Great White Egrets

By

Mr. Casey • August 10, 2018
2018 Covers • Covers

The Great White Egrets – I never saw as much diversity of wildlife until I found out they all actually live downtown.

The Great White Egrets

By

Jim Porter Casey • August 10, 2018
Photography • Slide Show

Even though I grew up an avid “outdoors man,” spending time on boy scout camp outs and weekends on the lake, I never saw as much diversity of wildlife until I found out they all actually live downtown.

The Goose Is Cooked

By

Jim Porter Casey • January 17, 2018
Photography

I’ve been trying to cook this goose for two years. It’s the fastest slow moving animal I have ever seen. If I approach from the left, immediately upon entering her field of view, she flies to the right. If I approach from the right, she’s gone just as quickly to the left.

TALLY Ho! Ho! Ho!

By

Jim Porter Casey • December 13, 2017
2017 Covers • Covers

TALLY Ho! Ho! Ho!

Dedicated To The Spirits Having Flown

By

Jim Porter Casey • January 2, 2017
Gallery • Photography

I reckon this to be chicken hawk, but she seems to brighter and more beautifully marked than what I have seen before. She sat there so quietly, and for so long, that I decided she might be sick, or maybe dazed on poison, or something. The was still sitting there forty five minutes later when I finally had to leave. But again it seems I am wrong. Because she continues to come back and sit in the same spot, or sometimes just down the way, on the same power lines.

The Birds Nest

By

Jim Porter Casey • November 6, 2016
Photography

To my chagrin, I really had no other choice but to place the bird condo in another spot out front – but hopefully not too very far away. I watched for quite awhile after moving the nest, and finally I began to loose hope as the little bird didn’t seem to figure out where the new location was, or if she intended to resume her matronly duties.

Blue Herons

By

Jim Porter Casey • December 2, 2015
Photography

I felt this to be a remarkable shot for several reasons. The rarity, getting three in one frame, the distance away, and the distance off the ground up in the trees. It was well after dark, shooting max f-stop and zoom at a max 300mm for a 2 second exposure at 800 iso, on a monopod steadied against a nearby fence. After the fact, I found I actually over exposed a little bit, but all in all I can’t complain too much about the clarity and sharpness of the focus.

Umber Eyed Bird

By

Jim Porter Casey • December 1, 2015
Photography

I had this one sitting on the back burner, frankly, because I wasn’t really happy with the clarity of the shot. I’ve got my excuses, low light, long zoom, heavy processing, etc. Even still, when I went back for a second look, I decided that it was better than I remembered, and the contrast of the birds umber eye helped to make the shot worthy of presentation.