Snowy Egret

Snowy Egret -- Arrowhead Marsh, Oakland,CA

 

 

 

We've probably all heard of how these beautiful birds were hunted to the brink of extinction because of a fashion craze.  Luckily a movement sprung up to halt the killing.  From what I've read, activists basically shamed the women who wore the hats with egret feathers.  Sad it came to that, but it worked and now snowy egrets are abundant.  Score one for the environmentalists.

Snowy Egret -- Arrowhead Marsh, Oakland, CA

Bela Lugosi Egret

Snowy Egret -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, Oakland, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, f/5.6, 1/1600s, ISO: 1250

OK, I know, it's silly but to me this egret looks like he's doing a Dracula impression with his wings as a cape.  He's sneaking up on that unsuspecting gull to suck his blood.  Poor unsuspecting gull.

In fact, the egret has just touched down for a landing and hasn't had a chance to pull its wings in yet.  That's not nearly as much fun as a vampire bird on a killing rampage photo, but I suppose that's why we have our imaginations.

Snowy Egret

Snowy Egret -- Oakland/Alameda Estuary, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS II, 1/2000s, f/5.6, ISO: 400

One of the cool things about birds is that they can bring a sense of the wild to urban environments.  Snowy egrets are a common sight along estuary shores, but not so much in the narrow sections which tend to be highly developed.  This guy didn't seem to mind all the buildings near the Fruitvale Bridge.

Snowy Egret

Snowy Egret -- Merced National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF-S 55-250mm IS II, 1.1600s, f/5.6, ISO: 320

Lovely birds, snowy egrets.  It seems like when nothing else is going well a snowy egret will come through with a nice photo op.  This was the first good shot of the day on Monday, and it came at around 4:00.  Things went better after that, though.  I credit little snowy here for getting the ball rolling.

Snowy Egret

Snowy Egret -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF-S 55-250mm Zoom Lens, 1/400s, f/7.1, ISO: 100

It's hard to go wrong with snowy egret photos.  From a technical level the birds can be difficult to photograph because their bright white feathers tend to wash out (as you can see in a few areas of this picture).  So often, though, that ends up being just a minor distraction from what is otherwise a very pleasing photo.  That's how it works for my eye, at least.  I like this shot.  I even like the twigs in the foreground.