Venus Pool - Great White Egret washing

It's becoming difficult to find original images of Great White Egret but I can't remember seeing one have a wash?

It started off ever so gently...

Then went mad with most of head and body immersed!! At least there were two pics just right!

 

The after wash ruffle...

Then breaking into a run...

The background light changed dramatically with the sun dropping.

And I finally managed a pic of the Egret threesome: Great, Little and the usually absent Cattle!!

A warm welcome to the three amigo's....

Venus Pool - Great White Egret

Three Great White Egrets were keeping company with the Whooper Swan (which I was concentrating on) and I had the wrong lens to do them justice!

Showing too well! 

Never happy am I ??

Venus Pool - Great White Egret

I've had several long distance records of Great White Egret since the New Year but none produced any decent images. That was about to change...

The Venus Pool 'regular' had slipped out of the far reed bed and took me by surprise, flying down the middle of the pool!

After flying further away...

A Heron (out of view) had scrambled to steer the Egret off the reserve giving rise to an acrobatic dogfight and 'different' images!

As for the Egret - he will be back....

Cound Floods - Great White Egret

I have very fond memories of watching these fields over the years and whilst there were no Whoopers/Bewicks on show, this Great White Egret was bird of the day...

There was also a Little Egret, even further away!

Venus Pool - Great White Egret

 After being deluged with sightings of Great White Egret in 2022, I suddenly realised I hadn't seen one in 2023! Time to pay a visit and see about a few pics, while the sun was shining!!

Perched on the middle island seemed to be the limit of its activity!

Luckily I had my wits about me when it did actually take off!

Landing amongst the lapwing plus a new Little Egret mate!

Some nice size comparisons going on here...

It didn't seem inclined to chase fish!

Just a bit of preening!

That's all I reckon as the sun went in and it was shadows galore!

Venus Pool - Great White Egret

It's easy to overlook one of the best birds which has been present seemingly for weeks. Just one Great White Egret today but I had the decency to point the camera at if for some 'different shots' today...

Full frame sprinting...

And just coming so close, a head shot was all I could manage?

Venus Pool - Great White Egrets and Carp!

I wasn't planning on taking more images of the GW Egrets but I was tempted by one catching a small Carp...

Then, the sight of them joining together as a group caught my eye...

Here's why from a distance...

Cropping a bit closer...

In the end, they gave up as the Carp was simply too large! Here's a smaller one tucked away in the bill!

Venus Pool - Great White Egrets

An amazing Egret feast has been taking place over the past two days and this was my first chance to enjoy the sight of three Great White Egrets plus three Little Egrets! This was in spite of the work party days which have made a tremendous clen up of the excess vegetation, well done everybody!

Too many pictures by far but here's a sample of my favourites... Starting with single GWE...

Take off and landing...

Nice size comparison...

Hard work to get two GWE's in the frame as they were often too close!

Here's a sight which will never be repeated - three Great Whites plus eught Little Egrets in the frame!!

They formed this tight formation as there was a fox prowling through the reed bed, a sort of safety in numbers tactic?

Eventually the fox moved on and so did they!

Quite a moment to remember!!