The above bird is known by several names: Common Egret, Large Egret, or the Great White Egret (my personal favorite). It doesn’t take very many times of watching this beautiful bird to see why it has gained so much attention. It’s stoic pre-strike immobile stance. It’s piercing gaze which seems to see straight through the water and into the eyes of its prey. It’s powerful yet majestic form in flight. Or it’s pure beauty in it’s white plainness. One could go on and on, but simply said, if you’ve never spent 30 minutes or so just watching this amazing bird…you need to.
Monica and I saw a group of white birds tucked into a small cove and when we drove up, we saw several of these Great White Egrets and two other species that I will cover in the coming blogs. When I got out of the truck I was so anxious to get some pictures, that I ran to the first open spot I could find and began snapping multiple pictures. I was probably way to far away to get anything of decent value, but I most certainly did not want to just “see” them. I wanted to “capture” them in my camera. Capture them in the medium that I held in my hands. To freeze that moment in time of their stoic face, their piercing gaze, the majestic flight, and their pure white magnificence. And that’s exactly what I did. We took a little over 400 pictures, thank heaven digital photos are free.
How can someone get this excited over a simple white bird and the opportunity to get a few pictures? Well, just wait until next week’s photo trip and the bird that we photographed right in the midst of these Great White Egrets.
So, leave me a comment and add to my excitement! Share with your friends. And if the spirit moves you, let me know if you’d like to have one of these photos or any of the ones we have taken. If you have a favorite photo idea, but haven’t seen it anywhere, just leave me a comment and I’ll make it happen. Until then, Enjoy Our Wonderful World!
RM Goldsmith Photography 