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Great Egret Hunting for Prey
This photo was taken in front of the pond located in front of the UNCW clocktower. It was taken at 9:08 AM on Wednesday February 20th, 2018. The specific element of ecology in this photo is predation. Seen in this photo is a Great Egret hunting for prey. I did some research to find background information on this bird and came across this helpful website: www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/great-egret
From this site I learned that the Great Egret (aka Ardea alba) is quite common in Wilmington. They often hunt for fish, frogs, and other small organisms that may be lurking in shallow waters. I actually saw this Great Egret jab its beak into the water for something, however it was hard to tell what it had caught. This is clearly a good example of predation because in this scenario the Great Egret was a predator and whatever it caught in its beak was its prey. As soon as I saw the bird make its snag I snapped a picture. It seemed to me like the Egret’s hunting style was to wait patiently in the shallow water at the edge of the pond and then suddenly jabbing its beak into the water, clutching its prey. It was very interesting to watch this predator hunt its prey. The website I mentioned above noted this hunting style, and also mentioned that the Great Egret may hunt in a flock and will even sometimes take food away from birds that are smaller. The Great Egret is a magnificent predator that can be found right here on UNCW’s campus.
Great Egret Hunting for Prey
This photo was taken in front of the pond located in front of the UNCW clocktower. It was taken at 9:08 AM on Wednesday February 20th, 2018. The specific element of ecology in this photo is predation. Seen in this photo is a Great Egret hunting for prey. I did some research to find background information on this bird and came across this helpful website: www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/great-egret
From this site I learned that the Great Egret (aka Ardea alba) is quite common in Wilmington. They often hunt for fish, frogs, and other small organisms that may be lurking in shallow waters. I actually saw this Great Egret jab its beak into the water for something, however it was hard to tell what it had caught. This is clearly a good example of predation because in this scenario the Great Egret was a predator and whatever it caught in its beak was its prey. As soon as I saw the bird make its snag I snapped a picture. It seemed to me like the Egret’s hunting style was to wait patiently in the shallow water at the edge of the pond and then suddenly jabbing its beak into the water, clutching its prey. It was very interesting to watch this predator hunt its prey. The website I mentioned above noted this hunting style, and also mentioned that the Great Egret may hunt in a flock and will even sometimes take food away from birds that are smaller. The Great Egret is a magnificent predator that can be found right here on UNCW’s campus.