Great Egret

After climbing around the rocks at Newport's South Jetty last Saturday, I stopped off at the Hatfield Marine Science Center where I saw the Great Egret shown above. Part of the trail was closed because of erosion issues, but it was still worth the stop. Next I decided to check out Beaver Creek State Natural Area. I didn't have time to hike much of it, but I wanted to at least see it since I had heard good things. It's a beautiful park, but I didn't seen many birds. However, on my way back to highway 101 I saw three Great Egrets in a pond along the road, so I pulled over and was able to get a few shots. They were chasing each other around and I was able to catch one as it was about to take flight and then land not far away.

Great Egret

One of the first birds I saw during my last trip around the RNWR auto tour was this Great Egret. It was stocking some prey in the canal along the road. It was nice to get such a close look as they are typically more flighty than their close relative the Great Blue Heron, but things tend to not be typical at RNWR.

Great Egret

Another dreary day in the Pacific Northwest. I spent the morning at Fernhill Wetlands. The activity was a pretty good, but the Common Mergansers drove me crazy. Try I as I did, I could not figure out a way to get in close to them to get good pictures. It's wide open at Fernhill and the ducks see you coming from a ways off. As soon as you start towards them they just start swimming to the center of the pond or to the other side. Very frustrating. I considered crawling on the ground, but I decided to hold on to what dignity I still have left. :-)

All was not lost however as I did get some good pictures of some Golden-crowned Sparrows, some Lesser Goldfinches and the Great Egret seen above. This Egret has been perching in the trees in this same area for a few weeks and seems less afraid up there allowing for some reasonable pictures.

Great Egret

There were birds at my sisters that I didn't even know were in Minnesota as a kid. This Great Egret is an example. When I started seeing these here in Oregon I was trilled as I had never seen them before. Years later I return to Minnesota and find the flying around my sister's yard on a regular basis.

Great Egret

It's not uncommon for me to see Great Egrets on my to or from work and they had been especially common recently. When I bought my camera it was one of the birds I was determined to shoot. I made a habit of bringing my camera to work with me in hopes of getting an opportunity to get a picture. So, of course, I don't see one for almost 3 weeks after purchasing the camera. How frustrating!
Well I finally came across one wading out in a large pond I drove past on my way home from work last night. I pulled my pickup over along the road and began shooting like a mad man. I tried about 6 or 7 slightly different angles hoping one would turn out decent. The Egret was further out in the pond than I would have liked and the light was low, so the images turned out a bit grainy and most of them were pretty poor. But this angle turn out fair and would have been spectacular if there would have been a little more light and the Egret a little closer. The surrounding colors play well with the white plumage of this magnificent bird. Not a bad picture, but I'm determined to get a better one.