Down the Hatch! ~ I hear the soft shell crabs are good!

I just had a photographic experience where time-sequenced photography was a necessity to capture the entire story.  I like to call it “rapid fire”, or taking as many images as possible in a matter of seconds in order to capture an event.

Jen and I were birding one afternoon, and as I was photographing a Night Heron up in a tree, she walked further down the wharf on the hunt as my bird spotter! 

Next thing I knew she was calling “Great Blue Heron just off the dock!”  Waving madly for me to come, I knew it must be good!

There standing in shallow water, at almost low-tide, was a Great Blue wading predatorily toward me.  I took a sequence of photos that amazed me. 

The Great Blue stalked his prey, stretching long-necked and upright to get a birds-eye view, so to speak. ☺  One step, then two steps, next a flashing strike into the water clamping down on a poor Chesapeake Bay crab with his beak!  It wasn’t a little sand-crab.  It was more like the ones we used to enjoy at the Bethesda Crab House in Bethesda, MD, with a pitcher of beer after baseball games. ☺

I snapped pictures as fast as my camera would allow, wondering if I was getting it. Well I did and so did the crab! ☹

I marveled at my pictures of a rather large crab, being so easily devoured in a matter of seconds by a bird.  It was simply stunning to me.  Down the hatch it went!

It is fascinating, as I gather material for upcoming paintings, to study and observe nature so that I can better bring out the different birds’ personalities and characteristics in my paintings.  Although, I seriously doubt you’ll be seeing any of these images in my upcoming work! ☺