Monday, November 12, 2012

I'm So Full Of Egret...

This past weekend I made a series of stops at some sweet waterfowl areas around Phoenix. The objective for the day was to see some male Hooded Mergansers, but that is a story for later this week. I've often found that when I set out with a specific goal in mind, I usually get lots of good stuff, even better stuff, on the side.

The partly cloudy, mostly chilly Saturday started off with an elegant Snowy Egret hunting before the sunrise at Papago Park, the first of several Egret encounters I had throughout the day.


This is not the first time I've been able to photograph a Snowy pretty close in the pre-dawn light. Of course, with little light there is little color and little feather detail to pickup in the photos, but as far as dark blue photography goes, I must say that the Snowy Egret is an excellent subject, especially because I always blow the whites with too much exposure in the full sunlight anyway.

I like how the curvature of the bird matches the outline of the rocks behind its head and neck here. Patience paid off for this silent assassin. Every minute or two it'd snap and swallow a little minnow. Alas, high shutter speeds and good light are essential for photographing those moments. Regardless, it's not too hard to appreciate the bird's aesthetic.


Snowies are exquisite birds, but they're not the biggest Egret on the block. My quest for Mergansers took me out to the lovely Fountain Hills Park in northeast Phoenix, and there, where everything is on a magnified scale, there are plenty of superlative Egrets on display.

"Great? Me?"

Like their smaller, snowier cousins, the Great Egrets sometimes prefer the shade too, especially when they need to get their...umm...affairs in order.


The Kayan people of Burma revere those who have very long necks. The women wear neck rings in increasing increments as they grow up, elongating their necks to the point where they can't support the weight of their heads without them. I bring all of this up only to wonder aloud, what might they think about Great Egrets? They've got it goin' on.


These lanky stalkers will stand poised and patient for minutes on end with their heads cocked back, ready to strike. While watching them at times, I even began to wonder if they were really hunting anything at all, or if they were just having a staring contest with their own reflection, and then SNAP!


Torsion, power, speed, and pinpoint precision...I wonder if that little fish's life flashed before its eyes? I suppose, if it did, one day would look much like any other. Egrets are of course not the only animal, bird, or even wader to feed with this quick-fire strike. But as delicate and dainty as these birds seem at times, all of the impressive muscle movements in their lunges are impossible to see with the naked eye, at least for someone with naked eyes like mine.

I enjoyed watching the Egrets hunt, and they enjoyed eating, so it was a win-win at Fountain Hills Park. They're not the biggest type of Heron nor the prettiest, but they're still pretty Great.


I came away with a lot of material on Saturday and I'll be trying to publish every three or four days. There will also be a longer compilation of the day's expedition over at Birding Is Fun on Thursday. Cheers!

23 comments:

  1. Great shots and post on the Egret!

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  2. Love these captures. We went alookin' for the Merganser as well but were just shocked at all the peeps. That was such a treat to be able to see up close. But you are absolutely right! The Egrets and Herons were amazing. Nice pics and the lighting worked in your favor. The sun makes them "glow" reflecting off the white. Awesome shots. Hope you're having a good week. Back to work today....back to reality again.

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    1. Thanks for stopping by Chris.
      It's funny how it works out. After a mediocre day of birding it's easier to go back to work, but this last weekend was most excellent, and it made we want to drop this whole crazy full-time employment gig and just become a bird nerd wastrel!
      Good thing I didn't--bills come in this week.

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    2. Do it!! I'll support you with my grand fortunes.

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    3. That'd be swell Jen. I also need to by a pre-owned Subaru then and a grungy vest. Also, I need to get good at birding.

      I appreciate the patronage.

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    4. Laurence, what are you talking about???? You are a god of birding. I look up to you for your high excellence!!! I get what you're saying. I feel the same way but you make me better for your work on these posts. I was with the Audobon on Saturday and I think I realized at one point that I was helping the leader out find as many species as we could for the group....and that's when it struck me. I'm not a beginner anymore. And you certainly are a master of your craft....well the birding part at least:) After this weekend, I was angry to be back lecturing. There were so many incredible birds up in Phoenix. I'm not even done with the documentation stuff. We found a SNIPE!!!! A SNIPE out in the open!! There are so many undocumented birds out there right now and we need to get them. Part of it I think is the nice weather....finally. We've been suffering too much hot and with these cooler temps I've been outdoors for most of the day filming, observing and documenting. Kathie and I get to play once a week and the other times we separately hike in our own patches between our local roadtripping. How do we get National Geographic to hire us?:) Do you ever dream about birding like this non stop? There are a couple birders that are on top of the lists here in Pima and it seems that it's all they do is bird.....I wish:) Grungy vest and straw hat is mandatory:) So I'm up for some more birding in Phoenix during Thanksgiving weekend or even this weekend....Saturday? Whenever, just let me know and I'll get the cell phone and camera charged with my notepad. 50 species? How about 60?!!! But as for that mortgage payment....:)

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    5. Ha, you're a sport Chris, but in this wide world of birds and bird expert, I am afraid I don't even make it on the scale of middle-weight birders, much less the heavy weights. Not to worry, I haven't been at it for long enough. Another 200 or 300 years and I'll be a top birder. Thanks for the encouragement, nonetheless.

      The temptations of a perpetual weekend and nonstop birding are a constant pull. At least, I feel it after I have a really good day of birding. Sometimes it'll be a bust, but yeah retirement...that'll be sweet.
      I try to make it to a few spots briefly on the weekdays, but less and less now it seems. I get my once a week Saturday trip too, and so I feel the extra pressure to make it count, both in terms of overall good birding and also with respect to post-able material for the blog.

      The GWR is the best place I've ever birded for finding Snipe in the open. Once I counted no less than 22. It was...stunning.

      If you figure out a way to swing the Nat'l Geo job let me know. I was thinking that, weather permitting, I could head down to SE AZ during the long thanksgiving weekend for a day. I'm not sure on the Saturday plans yet, but hey if and when you and Kathie are ready to make a run at Tres Rios and the Glendale Ponds on a weekend, I'll do my darndest to join!

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  3. Sweeeeet shots, especially the one with his head in the water.

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    1. Thanks Moe.
      In all honesty, I'll admit Great Egrets aren't a lot to look at, but when they're in action it's pretty impressive.

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  4. I stared at many many egrets yesterday trying to pick out a lone semi-rare Snowy fellow. I failed, probably because they were across a giant lake and all I had were binoculars. Ah well, I shall live through your photos instead...

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    1. Thanks House Jen! My goal in life to to have as many people living vicariously through me as possible. Thank you for helping make me dreams come true.
      Soon, you'l be able to vicariously experience the immeasurable joys of spotting mockingbirds on sticks. Oh yeah...

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  5. Love the title you used Laurence and as always the story that goes along with your images.

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  6. Great shots of a Great bird Laurence! I really liked your title too; always so clever:) I spent some time looking at many-o-greats yesterday. They were pretty entertaining as they were having some serious personal space issues with one another.

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    1. Great Tammy :)

      Thanks for stopping by. I think you hit the nail on the head: "They were having some serious personal space issues with one another."
      These anxiety attacks and insecurities are some of my favorite to observe in Egret/Heron behavior. I guess I have a cruel streak.

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  7. Laurence, photographing white birds is always a challenge but when you get it right it sure pays off. These birds are such beauties so it is hard to resit a good photo op! It is amazing how fierce they are! I can't wait to see what else you found. I hope one day soon we will finally get to go birding together! A fun and creative post.

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    1. Thanks Kathie! I'm looking forward to that day too. Sooner rather than later I think.

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  8. It is kind of mesmerizing to watch the patient egrets as they feed...I like the blue coloring but I know how frustrating it is in the I-want-perfect-lighting-dangit world of photography! I'm really looking forward to the rest of the photos you took that period.

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    1. Cheers Jann thanks for stopping by.
      Photographin white bird in the Arizona sun is brutal, but I guess that's the price one pays for having over 300 days of sunshine each year.

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  9. I especially like the lighting on some of your shots!

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