Great Egret Couple

Gallery: AvianPosted March 7, 2011194 views22 comments

The Rookery. Smith Oaks (Audubon). High Island. Upper Texas Coast. 3/6/2011

D3. ISO 400. 300/2.8 with 2x tc. f14 1/1250s spot metering. Gitzo with Wimberly head.

I spent about 2 hours here yesterday. Lots of Great Egret nest building and mating ongoing, but the roseates were on the far side of the area, apparently scared away with some ill timed building going on at the rookery last weekend

Not sure why they would plan this for the height of the season.

There were 8-10 couples in the area of this nest. Males would fly away and return with their sticks for the nest. The female-on the right-would sit still as the other males would fly in and out. But, as soon as her mate neared she would stand tall and ruffle her feathers and rhythmically move her head until he reached the nest. Really fun to watch.

I feel several posts from here coming soon. (Although sometimes my photo ADD kicks in and I suddenly get interested in something else--ooh look over there.

)

Comments

22 comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on March 7, 2011 at 11:56 PM

I like this a lot Angela, lovely light, nice detail in the whites and the close crop and large depth of field really puts you there with them, nice work.

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Marquart on March 8, 2011 at 12:18 AM

Nice interaction and behavior shot Angela. Good exposure and detail.

Registered on October 24, 2009, 126 Posts, 799 Comments

Comment posted by Simon Bennett on March 8, 2011 at 2:43 AM

Wonderful natural history, sharp and exposure is spot-on.

Registered on February 4, 2007, 350 Posts, 4614 Comments

Comment posted by Mauro Pasquero on March 8, 2011 at 3:54 AM

Great shot, Angela. Perfect exposure and detail. Very interesting behaviour of the birds and nice habitat.

Mauro

Registered on January 21, 2010, 650 Posts, 2500 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on March 8, 2011 at 6:34 AM

Great detail in the large image Angela. Like the comp too

cheers
Rob

Registered on November 8, 2003, 617 Posts, 8267 Comments

Comment posted by Randy Bacon on March 8, 2011 at 8:11 AM

Nice shot Angela, love the interaction and the nice clean eyes. Well exposed and composed. I was out there just 2 weeks ago, and there was nothing going on, I guess all of this warm weather has flipped the switch.

Registered on November 24, 2008, 56 Posts, 492 Comments

Comment posted by antino cervigni on March 8, 2011 at 2:17 PM

Excellent work with impressive lighting and details
Regards Antino

Registered on April 17, 2010, 70 Posts, 202 Comments

Comment posted by Walt Sterneman on March 8, 2011 at 3:19 PM

I like this shot Angela. Great exposure and great details. Those eyes....!

Registered on March 24, 2010, 73 Posts, 1268 Comments

Comment posted by Nancy Lea Sandy on March 8, 2011 at 3:56 PM

Excellent image, behavior, habitat, beautiful detail and bg. It's got it all! Very nicely done

Registered on January 24, 2011, 576 Posts, 6942 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on March 8, 2011 at 4:09 PM

Awesome photo to go with a great experience Angela. Excellent detail and comp. Looking forward to seeing more.

Ken Archer

Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Leggett on March 8, 2011 at 5:31 PM

Excellent behavior image and very good all around, Angela. You handled the whites quite well with this. Nice work!

Registered on July 21, 2004, 706 Posts, 3233 Comments

Comment posted by David Haynes on March 8, 2011 at 5:51 PM

Angela,
Very nice interaction and wonderful breeding plumage. Whites are perfect. Both birds are nice and sharp. My only suggestion is to remove the branch that goes through both of their beaks. Cheers

Registered on February 20, 2010, 110 Posts, 1511 Comments

Comment posted by Dottie Short on March 8, 2011 at 6:49 PM

Egrets kissing...how sweet. And this is one sweet image! As usual this one has lots of action and interest going on. I like the diagonal position of the pair. Excellent exposure! But then what do we expect from Angela.

Registered on April 12, 2010, 61 Posts, 375 Comments

Comment posted by Sharon Hallowell on March 8, 2011 at 7:29 PM

Wonderful poses and exposure. Great to get them in the open amidst all those sticks! Sharon

Registered on November 1, 2003, 392 Posts, 4810 Comments

Comment posted by Matt Shellenberg on March 8, 2011 at 8:57 PM

This is a really nice behavior shot, Angela. Very nicely composed and a great job on the exposure. Great job getting a good look at the eyes of both Egrets.

Registered on February 6, 2008, 168 Posts, 3118 Comments

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on March 8, 2011 at 9:41 PM

Oh, what a beautiful image Angela, with spot on exposure and such exquisite detail :^)

There's a freshwater lake we have over here, the largest in Thailand, where I've been several times to photograph some of the many birds one can find there (Egrets, Herons, Cormorants, among others), and while I've been fortunate enough on one occasion to come across and capture images of Great White Egrets in breeding colours and plumage, not one of them comes anywhere close to this one of yours ... you've really set an standard of excellence for me now, thank you :^)

Looking very much forward to seeing more of your work and particularly any more you may show us from this series :^)

Kind regards,

Ashley

Registered on March 1, 2011, 154 Posts, 2083 Comments

Comment posted by Sally King on March 9, 2011 at 8:52 AM

This is such a great image. The details in the faces with their full breeding plummage and the interaction is just awesome. The whole environment in which you have captured them adds to making this an excellent image. Perfect exposure on the whites. Love this image.

Registered on December 2, 2008, 416 Posts, 4450 Comments

Comment posted by Charlie VanTassel on March 10, 2011 at 1:40 AM

Really nice, Angela. Great interaction between the pair and looks like you captured the moment perfectly.

Registered on October 18, 2006, 644 Posts, 4801 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Willison on March 10, 2011 at 10:48 AM

Terrific, Angela. A real story telling image, and the techs are superb. I really like how you handled the whites here.

Registered on April 10, 2009, 292 Posts, 3967 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on March 10, 2011 at 3:05 PM

Great job in getting this difficult contrast type shot with the dark background and white egrets. Very nice feather detail, the larger image was a pleasure to view.

Registered on September 17, 2009, 302 Posts, 5535 Comments

Comment posted by Jay Levin on March 30, 2011 at 4:01 PM

Beautiful sharp detail and wonderful interaction, Angela. Great setting and perfect exposure on the whites. A superb nature image.

Registered on April 24, 2009, 21 Posts, 184 Comments

Comment posted by Greg Linhares on June 8, 2011 at 12:52 AM

WOW!!! This should be on the front page of a magazine! What a perfect shot! Very nice! :-)

Registered on June 1, 2011, 10 Posts, 15 Comments