Stacked

The herons' nests are stacked in the trees at the rookery.
This shot is out-of-camera -- no extender.

And here's one nestmate bringing twigs to fortify the nest.
The pair on the lower level are watching...



I bought a new L lens (70-200 f2.8) and paired it for some of the shots with a Kenko 1.5x extender. I think I'm having a nervous breakdown spending that much money on a lens! It's definitely a big and heavy lens and I'd probably only use it for a walk in the park. Maybe I should return it and look for something else (less expensive and not so heavy).

Fill the frame

The cat is a little grouchy because I'm ignoring his "hints" that I should pet him.

Taken with my point and shoot Panasonic just inches away from his face.

Unexpected

The great blue herons return to the rookery in the Cuyahoga Valley late in February every year.
I think the snow is unexpected...

This shot was taken with my ? to 300mm lens and manual focus to bypass the weeds in the foreground. I had to lighten it in Lightroom to match the partly sunny day.