I watched a group of American Avocets milling around in a shallow pond, some wading and some flying in small hops following whatever they were feeding on.
American AvocetsTwo did fly by fairly close to me and I hoped they would land for a close up shot, but they kept right on going to the other side of the pond.
American Avocets in FlightAnother group landed a bit closer, then waded out of view.
American Avocets in FlightTaken 2/25/2019
With a gracefully balanced stick a Great Egret flies to the nest he is building with his mate.
Wings out, feet ready for touch down, he glides into the tree.
Unfortunately for me, the nest is on the far side of the tree, but with no leaves out yet there is a view of the welcome home squawk.
Somehow these big birds manage to maneuver to a landing and not get tangled up with their building materials.
2/28/2019
A Great Egret is headed into the tree line to gather nest material.
This Great Blue Heron opted to choose some nest building materials from the tree line where I was standing.
After a tricky landing he walked along a good sized branch while poking for loose material.
After discarding a few options he pulled an acceptable branch free and flew back to the nest.
The Great Blue Herons are busy fixing up their nests around the pond, one stick at a time.
Wingspan: 65.8-79.1 in (167-201 cm)
Sometimes the action is above you.
I walked under this White Ibis without seeing him. He started to move and that caught my eye.
Three
Two
One
Liftoff!
Even though we are seeing a lot of flower color around the swamp the trees are still mostly dull grey and brown. The island where this Great Egret took off has a few green palm trees which gave this flight shot some color.
As he flew over the open water the background wasn’t nearly as interesting so I edited it to be darker, giving a nice view of the Egret’s wing tips and layers.
As he approached his destination, a tree closer to the edge of the pond, the Egret started to pull up for landing.
The Great Egrets have started to build nests and with that comes territorial disputes.
These disputes often involve a great chase around the pond.
A few trees have started to bud which gave a bit of contrast.
The Anghinga wisely stayed put as the Great Egret pair swooped past.
The final glow of the sun shining on the trees at the far side of the pond cast an orange glow on the water. The Great Blue Herons were still making trips into the woods to get nest building materials.
I’ve watched several Forster’s Terns the last few times I’ve been to the rice field impoundment. They are incredibly acrobatic in flight, twisting and turning, then swooping down to the water to go after small fish.
They are quite striking birds, even in non-breeding plumage. When they’ve make the turn and loop back for another run at the pond is the best opportunity to photograph them.
And did I mention they are fast? This is the best I got this day for a dive.
If they pick up a small fish with their feet they quickly pass it to their mouth and down the hatch it goes.
