Lesson Learned: slow SD...

William Wise Photo Nature Notes is a wildlife, birding and nature photography blog documenting the wonders of God’s creation.

James 1:19 "Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath"

Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias, a long legged water bird fishing in reeds and grasses of a pond. Great Blue Herons can strike like lightning to grab a fish. Photographed on wildlife birding hike in Walton County, Monroe, Georgia, USA.

Tuesday, 4:30 PM- Taking a walk up to the main pond behind the shelter underneath a sunny blue sky; 55°. Strong wind gusts are blowing the redheads around the water surface. Half of the ducks have their bills tucked in their feathers, all the others are diving away making quite the splashing and sputtering ruckus in the weedy shallows on the northern end of the pond.
 
The Great Blue Heron, a skittish but regular visitor, is spear fishing on the opposite bank. I was able to sneak up closer behind the large pieces of Public Works equipment. I saw him take a few catches while sitting patiently and watching. Getting in a better position, I began to fire away. But something was wrong: four shots, buffer full; Two shots, buffering again; three shots waiting for the buffer once more. So slow!!!!

Redhead duck, Aythya americana, waterfowl on an open water blue lake. Bills tucked in feathers, sleeping. These sociable ducks molt, migrate, and winter in huge flocks where winter numbers can reach the thousands. Similar appearance to Canvasback duck. Photographed on wildlife birding hike in Walton County, Georgia, USA.

​Having filled an SD card yesterday, and not downloading the photos onto my computer, I grabbed a different SD card and pop it in the camera before heading up to the pond. What a difference a brand can make! Although this card showed it was rated class 10, it certainly didn’t have the save time like one. Such annoyingly slow shooting. Lesson learned: not all SD cards are created equal. Know your equipment before you go. I’m glad the lesson was learned on a casual back-door outing and not on a rare find.

Redhead duck, Aythya americana, waterfowl flock on an open water blue lake. These sociable ducks molt, migrate, and winter in huge flocks where winter numbers can reach the thousands. Similar appearance to Canvasback duck. Photographed on wildlife birding hike in Walton County, Georgia, USA.

​Walton County, Georgia
Forecast: sunny, High near 58°
Sunrise 7:35 AM; sunset 5:55 PM
Day length 10 hours, 19 minutes
Moon: waxing crescent, 34% illumination