A large group of hungry and cooperative Snowy Egrets saved my morning yesterday at Farmington Bay WMA.
1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
I stopped on the road to photograph just one egret feeding in water that was covered with a thick layer of duckweed but it wasn’t long before other egrets began flying in to join the first bird. So of course I did my best to get landing shots. I never counted them but eventually there must have been a couple of dozen egrets in front of me doing what Snowy Egrets do – feeding, posturing with their flared plumes and skirmishing with each other over hunting space.
Whatever they were feeding on was tiny so I never got any dramatic shots of them with fish but I still like quite a few of my photos.
Here we see one of the first egrets coming in to join the original bird. As they’re approaching their intended landing spot they typically hold their “golden slippers” only millimeters above the surface of the water (or in this case, floating duckweed) for a short distance before they plop down. In this shot I like the wing position, the ruffled lesser coverts on the upper wing surfaces, the excellent detail in the left wing and tail, the long shadow of the bird indicating early morning and of course those yellow feet so very close to the water without actually disturbing the surface.
My (almost obligatory) nit? I wish I had a little more room at the bottom of the frame.
1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
Here’s a different perspective on another egret coming in at a much steeper angle. I like the visual dynamics of this shot with the wings, legs and feet pointing almost directly at the intended landing spot and the feet of the egret only about an inch off the duckweed.
I often noticed that when the birds hit the water the splash was muted by the thick layer of duckweed so there tended to be very little disturbance to the water which I found to be more than a little counterintuitive. It almost looked like they were landing in thick pea soup.
Immediately after dawn yesterday we had the refuge to ourselves for a good long while so we were able to spend 29 mostly undisturbed minutes with these egrets. It was a shooting frenzy while it lasted (I took over 800 photos) but eventually another vehicle came along and its unusual driving pattern apparently made the egrets nervous so they moved behind the cover of a patch of phragmites. I certainly don’t blame the driver for that, for bird photographers it comes with the territory.
When it was over it was really over. The transition from hearing the staccato of two shutters firing fairly continuously for half an hour to absolute quiet was an abrupt one.
But it was a blast while it lasted. And the icing on the cake at the end of the morning was visiting with three old friends I hadn’t seen in a while – Billy Fenimore, Joe Ford and Jason Jones. That was one of the perks of having the refuge road open to visitors again. It’s been a long “breeding season” with the gate closed.
Ron
Those wing coverts are deployed like the flaps on a landing aircraft (oops, I have it backwards).
Glorious images Ron, but that’s your norm! And you only picked one little bit. I’m SO proud of you! 😉
One little NIT! This one-finger typing is awful!
Ha, Nit or bit, they both get the job done. Thanks, Laura.
Wonderful!
Thanks, Jean.
WHAT a morning. Having those glorious birds almost to yourselves and meeting up with friends as icing on the donut. Thank you so much for sharing some of the wonder.
Yup, I had a very sweet morning with all that icing – literal and figurative. Thanks, EC.
Perfect timing to see those golden slippers just before they disappear.
I agree. Sometimes I luck out that way…
Just WOW!
Thanks, Melanie.
I envy you and Mia those 29 minutes. I haven’t been over to El Dorado or Bolsa Chica to birdwatch in a long time. I may have to rectify that once the puppies go up for adoption.
We both enjoyed the hell out of those 29 minutes, Marty. The rest of the trip – zilch.
Well, oh, wow! Beautiful shots!
Thanks, Becky.
Strange angels!
🙂
Ron,
Nice shots. I enjoyed the snowy egrets as well on Monday but later in the day and only a couple. I think they are just beautiful birds. I am still working on flight and landing shots but I will persist. I love your stuff!!
Stephen
Ha, we’re ALL still working on flight and landing shots, Stephen! They aren’t easy for anyone. Thanks very much.
Love these two photos Ron – especially the 2nd. Envy envy envy! We have about 20 of them here at present. I have lots of photos, but have yet to successfully get one landing or taking off. You are inspiring me to get back out there. Snowy egrets are beautiful birds. Thanks for posting these.
When you go for it I hope you’re successful, Everett. I suggest you make the attempt with the sun as low in the sky as possible to help with the very difficult exposure.
Gorgeous shots Ron! 🙂 Wouldn’t really know they were landing on water and just the tip of the toe touching is great. Leg coloring IS interesting as Kathy noted….. Glad I didn’t have to go through 800 photos! NOT a task for those of use who are easily bored! 😉 VERY successful morning – quiet/got shooting opportunity/meeting old friends AND the quiet…….. Winter headed our way for the weekend and may REALLY get it up N……
Judy, for 12 years I kept up with my culling (a monumental task) but in the last year I’ve let it slide almost completely. This batch of 800+ shots is the first day’s worth of photos I’ve culled in a very long time. I’m mortified. And intimidated by the task in front of me, if I ever get to it.
Just spectacular! Thanks, Ron!
Thanks, Robyn.
Love the landing photos, especially the dynamic second one. The duckweed made a wonderfully neutral background. “Golden slippers” is a great phrase. It may not be oridignal, or maybe it is. I never heard/saw it used before.
Nancy, “golden slippers” certainly isn’t original with me. Folks have applied that term to their feet for a very long time. I’m just a copy-cat.
Love that second shot. It really does exhibit the power landing. 🙂 I used to live near Cross Lake in Shreveport, Louisiana. They had a huge snowy breeding colony there. Takeoffs were dazzling.
Thanks, Arwen.
Great captures! Really like the ruffled feathers also especially the head feathers on your second and feet in the splayed position. Sounds like a good morning! One thing I’ve never noticed before on egrets is color difference in front and back legs…must have always paid attention to the ‘goth black’ nails! 🙂
Thanks, Kathy. Yeah, it looks like their legs were spray painted but the painter forgot to do one side.
Beautiful bird, great shots! Yup, shutter blasts been a problem for me many times. Thankfully butterflies don’t seem to mind it as much!
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Dick. We were far enough away from the egrets that any shutter sounds they may have been able to hear didn’t bother them at all. But it was pretty noisy inside my pickup…