Great Egret

I didn’t go to Malheur expecting to see Great Egrets as I did for Black-Necked Stints, Pelicans, or Ibis, but I wasn’t surprised to see them, either. Although we don’t get many this far north, I do see them quite often in late summer and they’re fairly common in Ridgefield. They’re rare enough, though, that I haven’t compartmentalized them yet.

In other words, I don’t know them well enough to know what a â€?”typical” pose is, which, in some ways, is a good thing, just as seeing anything with â€?”fresh eyes” can be a good thing. I originally favored this pose, perhaps because it reminds me of the hunting pose of a Great Blue Heron.

Leslie liked this pose because it reminded her of images of Brontosaurus feeding,

and I certainly concur that there is something timeless in this bird.

Of course, the beautiful feathers remind me of a fan dancer, slowly revealing their beauty so I enjoy watching egrets preen.

But my favorite shot is still of an Egret taking off, the moment when you can best see those magnificent wings fully spread.