Startled or just looking for a better spot, a small flock of White Ibis with a few Snowy Egrets mixed in flew from the back of the pond to right in front of me.
I worked my way a bit closer and watched as the Ibis picked in the mud.
The Snowy Egrets, one with his eye on a small Alligator, didn’t seem so inclined to get dirty.
Strutting his stuff, a Snowy Egret chose to walk across the road rather than fly, their usual mode if moving more than a foot.
Poking around in the grass he fluffed up.
Then turned and went back from where he came–no snack, no action, just strutting around.
A beautiful Snowy Egret zipped by me with a nice background of fall looking grasses.
Most of the Snowy Egrets I’ve seen recently have been tucked into the edge of pond and nothing I could get an image of. I was rather surprised to see this one settled in on a dead tree.
Another surprise, he stayed right there as I walked by. I got a couple of angles of the branch as he looked around.
This juvenile Snowy Egret had ventured away from his nest, learning how to get his own meals.
He had the stretch moves down, showing off his feet which aren’t quite the bright yellow of an adult.
But he was not successful while I was watching him. He got startled and flew back towards his nest.
A number of Snowy Egrets are nesting on a nearby island, along with some Little Blue Herons, Great Egrets and Anhinga. This fellow couldn’t seem to find a satisfactory spot to land and took a swoop out over the pond.
He put his landing gear down, but the water is a little too deep right here for them and those few sticks in the water wouldn’t have held him up.
Ah, a precarious perch, but all mine.
He assessed the situation back on the island…
and gave it another try.
We call it the Spoonie Tree because the Roseate Spoonbills often perch there, but it really is first come, first served and this year I’ve seen more Double-crested Cormorants than Spoonbills.
The Cormorants were just enjoying the sun and grooming, but the Spoonbills had a need to agitate.
Getting an image with all heads up didn’t work out that day.
The Snowy Egrets came and went, mostly ignored by the others.
January 16, 2020
Donnelley Wildlife Management Area, SC
This group of Snowy Egrets was being pretty sedate, not their usual darting and frenzied feeding on a recent early morning.
I’ve got your back!
Mirror, mirror at my feet… Yes, I am pretty!
I’ve wondered if birds have any perception of size. A Snowy Egret mingled with these American White Pelicans, perhaps thinking they would stir up a snack.
Average weight of a Snowy Egret: 13.1 oz (370 g)
Average weight of an AWP: 158.7-317.5 oz (4500-9000 g)
Source: The Cornell Lab: All About Birds
When wading birds are around a perch of any sort rarely goes unoccupied. When I first arrived at this pond just after sunup a Great Blue Heron was surveying the scene from a piece of driftwood. In the low light it looked a bit like an alligator.
Twenty minutes later the GBH had moved on and his spot had been quickly occupied by a Snowy Egret, with two Grackles closing in. Possession of such a coveted spot is a fluid thing.
