[A week on the Gulf Coast of Florida for Easter spring break with the grandkids gave me a chance to enjoy some stunning birds in spring… I do apologize if you’re tired of birds; I had a complaint recently from someone who thought there were too many birds, but in the spring they are the most exciting things in the Northern Hemisphere. Soon that will change!]
Snowy Egrets, Egretta thula, are quite small, 60cm long with a 100cm wingspan, with black beaks and yellow lores (the skin patches between their beak and their eyes). They hunt in the shallows in the early morning:
If they see something, their strike speed is astonishing; look at the water crater this one creates:
Their heads are not underwater for long:
before the catch appears:
A new hunt:
and success:
proudly displayed:
But when breeding is on their minds, for a brief period those skin patches turn orangey red:
the crest gets more impressive:
The plumes get longer, and as they nest in the mangroves they show off (while the pelican ignores them):
The target audience for this show is tucked unseen into the mangrove below:
I hope she was impressed.
Eyes on the Wild 
These are favorites! (and brown pelicans and skimmers and green herons and reddish egrets and tricolors and….) I enjoy watching them drag their yellow feet through the water to attract,stir up some lunch.
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Such a beautiful bird. My mother’s favorite and always reminded of her whenever I see Egrets.
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