Fishing Pole (Snowy Egret)
The feeding technique most commonly employed by Snowy Egrets on the bayou is to wade near the reeds on the bank and stir up the water with their legs and feet, snatching whatever might shake loose. So this bird is thinking outside the box a bit in using the suspended branch as a fishing pole and attacking from above. More unusual, this is a first-year bird, distinguished by the yellow streak on the back of its legs. Where did it learn to feed like that?
I encountered this one at the end of an already productive morning as I got to the eastern edge of Bay Area Park, nearing my takeout point. Watching as it caught fish after fish, I was about a half hour late in deploying my own lunchtime feeding technique.
Fishing Pole (Snowy Egret)
The feeding technique most commonly employed by Snowy Egrets on the bayou is to wade near the reeds on the bank and stir up the water with their legs and feet, snatching whatever might shake loose. So this bird is thinking outside the box a bit in using the suspended branch as a fishing pole and attacking from above. More unusual, this is a first-year bird, distinguished by the yellow streak on the back of its legs. Where did it learn to feed like that?
I encountered this one at the end of an already productive morning as I got to the eastern edge of Bay Area Park, nearing my takeout point. Watching as it caught fish after fish, I was about a half hour late in deploying my own lunchtime feeding technique.