Tuesday, August 30, 2011

World Bird Wednesday - Stalking an Egret


Last week, while staying with my sister in Melbourne, I had a
chance to check out the wetlands in Rowville near the golf course.
Actually, I was just stretching my legs with a camera trying to
capture some suburban birds when I spied this guy far across a
swampy meadow. A 135mm lens is not the ideal weapon for
shooting at this range, so I lined myself up with the scant cover
of the bush at right and squelched my way down until I was right
behind it.


Even before I was in position, I felt him watching my progress
and when I broke cover for a better shot,


he was decidedly skittish -


and took to the air just enough


to land again near the reeds. This is an Intermediate Egret,
as far as I could tell, Ardea intermedia. Unfortunately his
mate was killed and now he mourns his loss and lives a
hermitic existence since egrets usually mate for life.



Click to enlarge.
Next week I'll give you a short burst of the common suburban birds
in the area.

This is one of my favourite memes , you too can join it by clicking
on the Logo on my side bar.

27 comments:

  1. you did well to catch him like you did. sad that he's alone.

    ReplyDelete
  2. He's quite at home in the lush surrounds - great captures of this beautifully elegant bird.

    ReplyDelete
  3. You have captured some wonderful pictures here.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Delightful indeed! And what a beautiful bird. Marvelous captures as always! Hope you have a lovely day!

    Sylvia

    ReplyDelete
  5. mates for life along with geese and owls. no chance for a seond marriage? that makes me sad :^)

    the photo in flight is wonderful


    kj

    ReplyDelete
  6. Great photos of the Egret. Your progress through the shrubs sounds like really dedicated bird watching!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Has spring sprung yet? We are getting better weather. Though it is forecast another polar blast this weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  8. A sad story about a handsome bird.

    ReplyDelete
  9. You did a wonderful job, sneaking up to him, love the last shot!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I didn't know that about Egrets. So, if you just see one, it means they've lost their mate? Very interesting. Great captures!

    ReplyDelete
  11. You did it perfectly! Lovely shots!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Good post!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

    ReplyDelete
  13. What a sad, solitary fellow. You did a great job stalking and shooting!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Lovely images of a beutiful bird...I love the flight shot.

    ReplyDelete
  15. You did a great job of getting these pictures, even if you didn't have a proper lens. The pictures are wonderful.

    ReplyDelete
  16. They are a lovely bird aren't they? In the past few years they have become quite a common sight in the UK - something to do with global warming or so they say.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I love the shot of flight. I use to think these birds were rare, seeing one or three here and there. Then one trip to Hawaii, I saw what seemed to be a thousand of them!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Great series on the egret. They are beautiful birds.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Stalking is part of the fun :)

    He's a beauty, well worth the effort.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I love the stalking! I have a 400mm lens so I stand mightily impress with your skills using a much shorter lens. I read a story recently showing what kind of tricks a "real" pro photographer used to get his pictures. The fake set up hardly seemed ethical. Your images are the real deal! Bravo!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Beauty...sheer beauty...thanks for commenting on my dog blog. Your offerings are so enlightening...many thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Egrets are so elegant and your photos are lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Oh, the joys and trials of stalking! I did not know they mate for life and I really didn't know that means they live like a hermit if one or the other is killed! Do they never find a new mate?

    ReplyDelete

Blog Widget by LinkWithin