El Dorado Park - Revisited

As in my prior post I haven't had much going on in the sports shooting department, so I've been just getting out when able to shoot some local wildlife. I find just being outside walking around in the evening very relaxing

Once again I went to El Dorado Park to try my luck with the local wildlife. El Dorado Park is broken into three different sections. The first section isn't really part of the park, but is located on the south. It's the nature center, which has a few trails and a pond that offers a variety of flora and local wildlife.

The next portion of the park (center) has two ponds, with one being much larger than the other and a creek connecting the two. This is where I started my evening. I started by walking around the smaller of the two ponds and then following the creek to the larger pond. My first photo opportunity came with a few turtles, but as I attempted to get closer all but this one fled back into the water.

Once I came upon the creek I positioned myself low on the ground to get the following shots and partial reflections.

After walking around the center park for about an hour I decided to give the third portion of the park a chance. This next portion of the park has one large pond. As I exited my car I found this guy sunning on an overhead branch.

I continued by walk and found this guy on top of a small rise that overlooks the pond. I tried two different compositions for this shot. Not sure which one I like best, but I am very pleased with the background on these two shots with just a hint of water.

Along the most northern portion of the pond there is a small island. It was in this area where I found this guy fishing. One of the shots I want to capture is of an Egret or Heron catching a fish and tossing it up while adjusting it to swallow. Needless to say I didn't get that shot, but I did get some nice shots of him on the hunt.

I really loved how the sun peaked through and highlighted him in the water among the reeds.

While walking to the back portion of the park through an open field I found this one hunting for rodents. Here he is intently focusing on possible movement. For the next shot I quickly, while trying to remain as quite as possible, repositioned myself to capture the catch, but just as he dove into the dirt my battery died. Now he didn't catch anything in this attempt, but I was really disappointed in myself for not being aware of my equipment. I could have missed a great shot, and more than likely did as I had to go back to my car for another battery, but in the end the park was closing so I had to leave anyways. Either way it was a great evening to be out shooting.