On Safari

 I recently shared a few similar images to the ones above but that was before I had a chance to edit them. I have only made very slight edits, mainly in terms of cropping the images where it was necessary and to make adjustments to the exposure.

I had watched a cormorant fishing and various other birds flying past but the black headed gull had clearly staked its claim over its territory in front of where I was sitting overlooking the lagoon. As another gull approached it would literally get into a flap and would noisily chase off any would be intruder. It was fun to watch and I thought the behaviour was quite strange too because at no point during the time I was watching did this bird catch anything to eat or pick at any scraps.

The lizard was one of several that I spotted in the hedge bordering the biennale gardens. This one had clearly found the perfect spot to soak up the afternoon sun. I was intrigued to note the texture and scaling on the tail was different to that on its body. I wondered whether this was due to it having grown back after shedding its tail in some previous conflict. Several of the other lizards I saw had similarly distinctive tails, so perhaps life for a lizard in Venice is full of hazard.

The egret was a real gem for me. I had been watching it sat on the railing of a pontoon about 20 metres away. I had imagined that if I tried to approach it to get a photo it would fly away and I did not want to disturb it. However, after some time I decided I would creep closer and see how it reacted, if appeared distressed I would leave it alone but if it remained calm I would take a few shots and then walk away. I could not believe my luck when it stayed settled, even when I was within about 4 metres from it. I am sure I could have got even closer had I wanted but it seemed neither fair nor necessary as I still managed to get some great shots.

Little Egret

 Here are a couple of shots of a little egret taken at Burton Mere last week. It was a windy day and while this bird looks immaculate with its pristine white plumage when it tuned its head in its search of a meal the wind ruffled its feathers so badly it looked like a different bird altogether. I do have some shots of that but think it would be mean to share them.

Egrets, like their cousins the grey herons feed mainly on fish and small amphibians and snails etc however they have a much more active approach to finding their food. While the heron will stand patiently, perfectly still waiting for something to swim or move within striking distance the egret will walk slowly like a stealthy hunter in search of its prey.

Little Egret

The bright white plumage really gleamed as this lovely egret took a few moments rest while out fishing on the mere at Mere Sands reserve. A fellow photographer commented that egrets are pretty poor (that's a cleaned up version of what he actually said) when it comes to fishing unlike the grey heron that was also fishing nearby. The two species do have different styles of fishing that is certain; while the heron sits sentry like with infinite patience and then spears fish with lightning fast reflexes the egret is far less patient, he shuffles about and disturbs the fish and then makes a grab as the fish scatter before him.

That being said this particular bird seemed to be doing pretty well for himself as he caught some decent sized fish (I may share a photo in due course) while I watched, the disparaging photographer had long since left however so didn't get to see how effective this style of fishing proved to be.

Patient Hunter

I was really lucky a few weeks ago as I was able to get out with my camera several times during a week off work and I got loads of great shots. I then had a bit of a lull until today when I went out to Formby and the National Trust reserve there to photograph the red squirrels. I had a lovely time and I can hardly wait to share some of the pictures because I can promise there are some really good ones.

However I still have lots from my week in March to share so I will have to wait, and therefore so will you.

I still have some good shots from my last visit to the zoo as well but for today I am mixing things up with a couple of shots of this magnificent Little Egret who was using the utmost stealth in his search for a tasty meal at the RSPB reserve at Burton Mere.

I like both of these images but I really like the second shot because of the birds' pose and also the warm colouring which has been achieved by shooting through the reeds which reflect some of the morning sunlight.

I was able to watch the bird for several minutes and I can say that he was a very successful hunter.

Little Egret

I had stopped to look through one of the screen hides at Burton Mere and at first glance there was virtually nothing to see but then I spotted this lovely Little Egret a little way off in the distance. I could see that it was working its way slowly towards me as it was searching for food so I hung around for a bit in the hope it would get close enough for me to get a few shots. 

 Well as you can see my patience paid off.

This is a really elegant bird with its pristine plumage and fierce long black beak. I love the plume on its head and the wispy feathers on its breast and back. Although here it looks perfectly still it was in fact shuffling its feet constantly stirring up tasty treats.

Hunkered Down

The first image show a beautiful Little Egret in winter plumage (sleek and lacking the wispy plume that it has during the summer months). It was patiently patrolling the shallows fishing. I watched this one catch a decent sized fish just a few moments before this shot but sadly I didn't capture the action. This is such a beautiful and elegant bird with its pristine white feathers.

The second picture shows an adult Grey Heron hunkered down on the embankment over looking the pool. It was cold and windy and he seemed quite content standing there. He lacks the elegance of the Egret, at least in this pose but nonetheless he is a lovely creature.