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In a Fog
Winter mornings are often foggy at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. Shooting in fog can be a challenge, but in the right circumstances can make for some lovely images. The fog doesn’t change one simple fact of life: predators like this great egret still need to eat. Hunting in the fog can provide some unique opportunities, such as a coyote I saw that was able to sneak up on and grab a Canada goose or another that took a run at a great blue heron.
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Hunting in Green
I've been working variations of this theme for the past few years, the hunter hidden in the tall grasses. Most of them have been environmental portraits, but I think this one works better zoomed in.
While it might appear from the grass that the egret is hunting in a meadow, it's actually standing in a saltwater marsh, working over a narrow channel while the tide is out. |
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Warm Winter
The warmth and softness of the evening light hide the fact that this was taken during a cold snap in the dead of winter — much of the water in the ponds and sloughs of Ridgefield had frozen over.
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Dead Center
A great egret spots movement and freezes to see if the creature will expose itself and start moving again. On this particular occasion, the intended prey escaped. Since there were plenty of other critters to hunt, the egret didn't have to spend a lot of time waiting out its dinner, so it paused only for a moment before looking elsewhere.
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Fish Toss
A great egret opens wide and tosses back a small fish, while a snowy egret continues to hunt in the background.
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The Late Bird Gets The Worm
Along the auto tour at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge in Washington, you're as likely to see herons and egrets hunting in the fields as the ponds and marshes. This one was part of a group of egrets hunting late in the day when it caught a snake. At least I thought it was a snake.
When I got home and looked at the pictures, I realized why I was having trouble figuring out what kind of snake it was - it was actually an earthworm, the biggest earthworm I've ever seen. I had no idea they even got this big, but the egret made short work of it. |
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White on Orange
An egret fishes a pond at sunset at Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon's Willamette Valley. There's a little pullout on the road that bisects the refuge, it sometimes allows close viewing of birds by using your car as a blind. I say sometimes because there are no restrictions on getting out of your vehicle (this isn't an auto tour route), and there are often birders in the pullouts who have gotten out of their cars to scope out birds further afield, scaring off many of the birds who otherwise might have stayed closer to the road.
On this day, however, the fates smiled and I was alone with the birds. The second picture was taken about 10 minutes after the first, the sunset has faded and the waters have turned from intense oranges and yellows to muted oranges and blues. |
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High Perch
A great egret perched high in a tree along the Muddy Creek trail at William L Finley National Wildlife Refuge. The trail closes during the winter, but during the warmer months it is a great spot to watch for egrets (and herons) in the trees, they often perch there near one of the smaller ponds.
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