The Feather
Found this Great Egret getting breakfast at a local pond. Made My Day !!
The feather was eventually lost to the wind and water... not a Ladies Hat : )
The elegant Great Egret is a dazzling sight in many a North American wetland. Slightly smaller and more svelte than a Great Blue Heron, these are still large birds with impressive wingspans.
They hunt in classic heron fashion, standing immobile or wading through wetlands to capture fish with a deadly jab of their yellow bill. Great Egrets were hunted nearly to extinction for their plumes in the late nineteenth century, sparking conservation movements and some of the first laws to protect birds.
Great Egrets fly slowly but powerfully: with just two wing-beats per second their cruising speed is around 25 miles an hour.
Though it mainly hunts while wading, the Great Egret occasionally swims to capture prey or hovers (somewhat laboriously) over the water and dips for fish.
The oldest known Great Egret was 22 years, 10 months old and was banded in Ohio.
(Nikon, 500mm, 1/2000 @ f/5.6, ISO 220)
The Feather
Found this Great Egret getting breakfast at a local pond. Made My Day !!
The feather was eventually lost to the wind and water... not a Ladies Hat : )
The elegant Great Egret is a dazzling sight in many a North American wetland. Slightly smaller and more svelte than a Great Blue Heron, these are still large birds with impressive wingspans.
They hunt in classic heron fashion, standing immobile or wading through wetlands to capture fish with a deadly jab of their yellow bill. Great Egrets were hunted nearly to extinction for their plumes in the late nineteenth century, sparking conservation movements and some of the first laws to protect birds.
Great Egrets fly slowly but powerfully: with just two wing-beats per second their cruising speed is around 25 miles an hour.
Though it mainly hunts while wading, the Great Egret occasionally swims to capture prey or hovers (somewhat laboriously) over the water and dips for fish.
The oldest known Great Egret was 22 years, 10 months old and was banded in Ohio.
(Nikon, 500mm, 1/2000 @ f/5.6, ISO 220)