{"id":2474,"date":"2011-06-10T06:52:50","date_gmt":"2011-06-10T13:52:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=2474"},"modified":"2025-09-01T10:55:44","modified_gmt":"2025-09-01T15:55:44","slug":"friday-photos-great-egret","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2011\/06\/10\/friday-photos-great-egret\/","title":{"rendered":"Friday Photos: Great Egret"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Resting\u00a0Great Egret (Ardea alba) in a Florida tidal lagoon –\u00a0\u00a0 Nikon D200, f7.1, handheld, 1\/800, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 330mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I remember clearly the day I photographed this Great Egret in a tidal lagoon at Fort De Soto<\/span><\/a>, Florida. It was very hot and humid but there was a slight breeze coming in from the Gulf of Mexico.<\/p>\n

I was sitting in the water of the lagoon and the water felt cool against my skin. Tiny little shrimp were crawling on my legs and I wanted to laugh about that so much but didn’t dare for fear of scaring away the Great Egret.<\/p>\n

I think that Great Egrets are beautiful though they can be difficult to expose the whites correctly. Here the morning sun helped me to keep the exposure under control without blowing the whites.<\/p>\n

This egret was either going into or coming out of breeding plumage as shown by the slightly green lores, in breeding plumage the green lores would be almost a lime color while in nonbreeding plumage they are more yellow.<\/p>\n

I love how peaceful this image makes me feel and how the distant shoreline and sand dunes give this image a nice sense of place. I know it will always remind me of the great times I had photographing birds at Fort De Soto, one of my favorite places on earth.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Great Egret photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I know this photo will always remind me of the great times I had photographing birds at Fort De Soto, one of my favorite places on earth. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":153710,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,25,704,362],"tags":[4004,4272,6214,743,351,363,683,343,3980,4891,4188,4140,313],"class_list":["post-2474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-florida","category-fort-de-soto-county-park","category-great-egrets","tag-adult","tag-ardea-alba","tag-dunes","tag-egret","tag-egrets","tag-great-egret","tag-habitat-2","tag-photography","tag-pinellas-county","tag-shore","tag-shoreline","tag-tidal-lagoon","tag-wading-birds"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/great-egret-florida-lagoon-mia-mcpherson-5667.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-DU","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4711,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/04\/02\/great-egret-hunting-in-stll-waters\/","url_meta":{"origin":2474,"position":0},"title":"Great Egret Hunting in Still Waters","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 2, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I've always liked the calm mood this image conveys partially because the stalking pose of the Great Egret (Ardea alba), the silky smooth surface of the water, the reflection and how the out of focus Snowy Egret and Little Blue Heron give the frame a depth that wouldn't be there\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Great Egret and friends, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/great-egret-florida-mia-mcpherson-9981.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/great-egret-florida-mia-mcpherson-9981.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/great-egret-florida-mia-mcpherson-9981.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":51174,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/03\/07\/when-the-s___-hits-the-fan-go-to-a-happy-place\/","url_meta":{"origin":2474,"position":1},"title":"When the S___ Hits the Fan, Go To a Happy Place","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 7, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The sun hadn't yet come up when I spotted this Great Egret in the tidal lagoon with the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in the background and it looked like the water was on fire.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sunrise, Great Egret and a tidal lagoon at Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/fort-de-soto-sunrise-mia-mcpherson-9578.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/fort-de-soto-sunrise-mia-mcpherson-9578.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/fort-de-soto-sunrise-mia-mcpherson-9578.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/fort-de-soto-sunrise-mia-mcpherson-9578.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12166,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/12\/22\/a-great-egret-on-the-hunt\/","url_meta":{"origin":2474,"position":2},"title":"Great Egret On The Hunt","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 22, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Just a simple Great Egret hunting in a quiet tidal lagoon today that takes me back to warmer memories spent with good friends on Florida's Gulf Coast.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Great Egret hunting prey in a Florida lagoon, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/great-egret-hunting-mia-mcpherson-0131.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/great-egret-hunting-mia-mcpherson-0131.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/great-egret-hunting-mia-mcpherson-0131.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/great-egret-hunting-mia-mcpherson-0131.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6581,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/11\/15\/great-egret-and-a-mullet-the-great-egret-wins\/","url_meta":{"origin":2474,"position":3},"title":"Great Egret and a Mullet – The Great Egret Wins","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 15, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I remember the morning I took this photo well, it was a warm morning in February at Fort De Soto's north beach, the Great Egret was in the tidal lagoon near the Concession Stand and it had been actively hunting when it came up with this Mullet.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Great Egret with a Mullet in a lagoon, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/great-egret-mullet-mia-mcpherson-0007.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/great-egret-mullet-mia-mcpherson-0007.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/great-egret-mullet-mia-mcpherson-0007.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/great-egret-mullet-mia-mcpherson-0007.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":42447,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/10\/06\/great-egret-with-the-catch-of-the-day-that-didnt-get-eaten\/","url_meta":{"origin":2474,"position":4},"title":"Great Egret With The Catch Of The Day That Didn’t Get Eaten","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 6, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The Great Egret struggled to swallow the large fish and even though it readjusted the fish in its bill several times it never swallowed the fish before it dropped it into the lagoon and flew off.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Great Egret with large fish, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-egret-fish-mia-mcpherson-4917.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-egret-fish-mia-mcpherson-4917.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-egret-fish-mia-mcpherson-4917.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-egret-fish-mia-mcpherson-4917.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6384,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/10\/17\/four-years-ago-today-at-fort-de-soto\/","url_meta":{"origin":2474,"position":5},"title":"Four Years Ago Today At Fort De Soto","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 17, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Just a few images taken 4 years ago today at the north beach of Fort De Soto.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Reddish Egret with a fish in a lagoon, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/reddish-egret-fish-mia-mcpherson-7445.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/reddish-egret-fish-mia-mcpherson-7445.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/reddish-egret-fish-mia-mcpherson-7445.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/reddish-egret-fish-mia-mcpherson-7445.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2474"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2474\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/153710"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}