I love this little bird.  This Tri-colored Heron is a regular at the Bird Rookery here in Collier County.  He is so much of a regular that I have named him Hollywood. Unlike most birds that fly away as you approach, Hollywood loves to have his picture taken!  As I frequent the Rookery weekly, Hollywood is always out front in the little lake entertaining visitors. He runs, wades, and flies back and forth the width of the lake looking for food, all the while putting on a great show for those watching.  He struts around with his wings in the air almost like he is trying to intimidate the little fish living below the water’s surface. Then without warning, he flies into a low-lying cypress tree and perches ever so gracefully. 

I have visited other marshy locations throughout Collier County and I encounter other Tri-colored Herons.  However, Hollywood is hands-down the most entertaining and enjoyable bird to watch. His daily antics encourage me to return week after week. 

I have found at the Rookery, as with any location, the lighting continually changes by the minute.  Photographing this little guy has been a challenge at times as he wades in and out of the shaded water.  I constantly need to change both by shutter speed and aperture settings. I am shooting with the D850 and I found that leaving the Auto ISO on has helped me achieve faster shutter speeds when Hollywood is in the shade.  If I am shooting in full sun, I like to control the ISO on my own to ensure I stay at the lowest setting possible. I turn the Auto ISO off and try not to go above 100. The D850 is a beast and has quite a bit of weight to it at just over 2 pounds.  When I add my 200-500mm Nikon lens, the weight increases drastically by another 5 pounds, so I find that I definitely need to shoot with my tripod. Even though 7 pounds does not sound like a lot of weight especially in the fitness world, it sure does make me shake a bit when trying to follow this frisky bird without the aide of a tripod!