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Grey Heron and Little Egret.
Canon 1DMk2. 500mm F4 L USM plus 1.4x converter.
 
 		Of Otters and Egrets in Somerset

I was also surprised (and delighted) to see at least 7 Little Egrets roosting in front of the hide.

Remember, not more than a decade or so ago, these were a pretty rare sight in Britain and yet now they seem to be doing very well with sightings being commonplace.

Luckily, the Egrets didn't fly very far from the roost to start feeding - in fact they fed right in front of me.

I caught a series of shots showing interaction between the Grey Heron and the Egrets. They both wanted to feed in the same area and the Heron would often fly directly at an Egret to make it move.   

Here you can see the Egret loses a primary flight feather as it tries to avoid the incoming Heron. There was no actual contact between the birds so I guess the feather was probably loose anyway as part of the normal moulting process.

Notice how much larger the Heron is than the Egret.
Grey Heron and Little Egret.
Canon 1DMk2. 500mm F4 L USM plus 1.4x converter.

Juvenile Little Egret.
Canon 1DMk2. 500mm F4 L USM plus 1.4x converter. 		 

You'll notice the legs and feet on this bird don't show the normal black/yellow colouration of the adults and I believe this is a juvenile. Which is great news as it just shows that Egrets are breeding successfully and are, hopefully, here to stay.  
 

I've included a few more shots of the Egrets in flight showing off their beautiful plumage.  It's a shame about the light - far too grey and somber.
Little Egret.
Canon 1DMk2. 500mm F4 L USM plus 1.4x converter.

Little Egret.
Canon 1DMk2. 500mm F4 L USM plus 1.4x converter.
 

   

 

 

 

 

 

This shot clearly shows the plumes for which the Egret family was nearly hunted to extinction in the late 1800 to early 1900s. Such plumes were in high demand for ladies hats and fashions. In fact, it was a group of conservationists who tried to get this practice stopped which led, I believe, to the formation of the RSPB as we know it now.

 

 

 

 


Little Egret.
Canon 1DMk2. 500mm F4 L USM plus 1.4x converter.
 

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