Great Egret landing with dinner – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/1000, ISO 160, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light, not baited
I don’t often see wading birds in flight with large prey in their bills so in April of 2009 I was excited to see a Great Egret landing in a lagoon with a large fish in its bill.
I had spent the morning on Egmont Key with other participants in the Florida Master Naturalist Program and had ferried back to Fort De Soto County Park to finish up my day photographing the birds at the north beach when I saw the Great Egret in flight and saw through my viewfinder that it had prey in its bill. I hoped the large, white wading bird would come close enough for me to obtain images of it landing and I was quite pleased when it did. I am not sure what species of fish the egret had but it was rather large and seemed to slow the egret down while it was in flight.
I believe this is the largest fish I have ever photographed while a wading bird carried it in its bill while in flight.
The lores of the Great Egret show some green coloration so the bird may have been going into or coming out of its breeding plumage.
I spent quite a bit of my day yesterday dealing with another low battery issue, not the batteries of any of my cameras but that of my Jeep. I bought a battery in January of 2016 and it had to be replaced in April of 2017 because it wasn’t holding a charge.
This week I noticed some hesitation when I started my Jeep and knew something was going on with the battery yet again. It was determined that the replacement battery I had installed in April was also not holding a charge and that it needed be replaced again. It was still under warranty and would be replaced cost free so I decided to spend a few extra dollars and upgraded to a better, stronger battery.
I feel better and safer this morning knowing that I have a reliable battery installed in my vehicle because there are times I am out photographing in remote areas where cell phone signals can be sketchy and where calling for roadside assistance might not be possible.
Life is good. So is having a vehicle that is well maintained.
Mia
Click here to see more of my Great Egret photos plus facts and information about this species.
Great image from Florida! I always go for the more expensive battery for the car; I hate changing them too frequently.
I’ve never seen a wading bird flying with a fish…only standing in the water. This is a great shot and I agree that the fish is pretty darned big….
I have only seen wading birds with fairly large prey fly-hop from one spot to another so getting one in flight & landing would have been a great find. Great photo.