Squacco Heron Fishing - Sabkhat Al Fasl

Friday was windy and overcast and this coupled with the early morning start to birding meant the light was not very good for photography. Nevertheless I managed to find a Squacco Heron in a good position at the edge of a small patch of reeds at Sabkhat Al Fasl, by a lake which I have just discovered. I slowly worked my way closer to the bird and eventually I got into a position where I could look at the bird and take photogrpahs whilst the bird did not seem unduely perturbed by my presence. The Squacco Heron was busy catching small fish and I took a number of photographs of the bird in the eact of fishing, but because the sun was behind clouds the shutter speed was not high enough to catch sharp pictures. I am not complaining as I enjoyed more than an hour watching and photographing this bird before a Marsh Harrier scared it away. The Squacco Heron is normally quite a timid bird and to be able to get this close for this long was a privaledge. The last photograph shows the Squacco Heron in an alert posture as the Marsh Harrier flew over, but on this occassion it did not flush the bird.