Ear Wax

"I can't hear a thing!", the heron seemed to imply as he scratched a claw at his ear.

I heard his primordial squawk long before I saw him swoop along the inlet landing on the ducks' nesting box. I watched from afar whilst he adopted the typical heron pose. After a while preening ensued, with contortions to reach the awkward spots with his very useful long beak.

Then came a spot of sunbathing in the heat of the evening sun, spreading his wings a touch to catch the breeze. Finally, the ear scratching began which I was fortunate to capture from my position obscured by trees and grass.

I placed the light coloured bird against deep shadow for maximum contrast and reduced the saturation of the green grass to avoid overwhelming the few colours in the feathers.