Great Swamp NWR
View allAll Photos Tagged Greatness
At least I believe this is the correct ID, waiting for iNaturalist to confirm. Identification confirmed (6/25).
The male on the left is a bit bigger and has been dominating the smaller male. Recently the smaller one has been fighting back.
(Ardea herodias) I do love my 800mm f11 lens! It is allowing me to capture shots I could only dream of before. Paired with my R6 or my R5 It's lightness makes it great for BiF for me - the animal eye focus on the new cameras works fantastically well. I found my 300mm f2.8 prime a fantastic lens but paired with a 1DX2 I couldn't hold it long enough and steady enough to focus properly.
This Great Egret flew across the lake at Orlando Wetlands, Florida. It was beginning nest building, and flew to another area for twigs and branches for the nest.
This egret is transitioning to breeding plumage/color. It will remain white, but its bill will become more orange and its facial skin will become greenish. It has already begun developing long plumes trailing alongside its black legs
in the Chobe NP, Botswana
Better be watched by an animal than a nosy man.
The world is like a book and those, who do not travel, only read the first page.
If you only visit 2 continents in your lifetime, visit Africa, twice.
All rights reserved. © Thomas Retterath 2023
Keeping a low profile on a bitterly cold, windy April day on the local park lake (Nottingham, UK) (4361)
My shutter speed was a little slow for a flight shot, There was no time to change settings when this one launched from its perch.
Thorhild County, Alberta.
Two more looks at this beautiful Owl. I have learned a few things about this individual and his travels since my last post and I will put together a photo story about his journey to here and his contact with humans.
La Ceja, Colombia; Central Andes; 2.300 meters above sea level.
♂️ Turdus fuscater (Great Thrush / Mirla)
Great Thrush is the largest of the South American thrushes. The plumage is dark olive brown with a distinctive long tail. Individuals measure between 28-33 cm. Males and females are similar in plumage, but males have an orange eye ring.
neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/portal/species/identificati...
Wikipedia: The great hornbill (Buceros bicornis), also known as the concave-casqued hornbill, great Indian hornbill or great pied hornbill, is one of the larger members of the hornbill family. It occurs in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is predominantly frugivorous, but also preys on small mammals, reptiles and birds. It has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 2018. It is known to have lived for nearly 50 years in captivity. Due to its large size and colour, it is important in many tribal cultures and rituals. The Government of Kerala declared it as the official Kerala state bird.
The great hornbill is a large bird, 95–130 cm (37–51 in) long, with a 152 cm (60 in) wingspan and a weight of 2 to 4 kg (4.4 to 8.8 lb). The average weight of 7 males is 3 kg (6.6 lb) whereas that of 3 females is 2.59 kg (5.7 lb). It is the heaviest, but not the longest, Asian hornbill. Females are smaller than males and have bluish-white instead of red eyes, although the orbital skin is pinkish. Like other hornbills, they have prominent "eyelashes"
The great hornbill is native to the forests of India, Bhutan, Nepal, mainland Southeast Asia and Sumatra.
Conservation status: Vulnerable
The great blue heron is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North America and Central America, as well as far northwestern South America, the Caribbean and the Galápagos Islands. Wikipedia
Scientific name: Ardea herodias
Wingspan: 6 to 7 foot chesapeakebay.net
Family: Ardeidae
Thanks to everyone that views and comments on my images - very much appreciated.
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Another shot from a great encounter with this Owl from a couple of weeks ago. Always a wonderful experience.
Great Egret – this bird is going into breeding season, you can see that the lore (the patch of bare skin between the beak and the eyes) is changed from yellow to lime green. The graceful plumes called aigrettes have not yet started to grow (they will eventually appear on the shoulder area and trail over the bird’s back). Early this morning I felt the need to escape from the evil of Putin news and go out and find something beautiful to photograph. Shame on this despicable man.