Happy Feet

I was at Ding Darling yesterday with about two dozen Roseate Spoonbills and nearly as many photographers watching them. And that presents a professional challenge: When you're surrounded by other pros, and you're watching the same subject matter, how do you come up with a shot that's unique?

In this particular instance, I watched to see if I could find activity that everyone else was ignoring. And along came several Reddish Egrets (Egretta rufescens), whose dancing antics never fail to entertain. These birds kick the shallows to stir up crustaceans and small fish, pirouetting about with one or both wings outstretched to shield the water from glare, then strike with one of the quickest movements in the animal kingdom.

When there are spoonbills taking off, they're a hard sight for photographers to resist. But when this Reddish Egret wandered over within camera range, I was able to fire off about a half-dozen shots. And as is so often the case, the first one was the best.

Shortly thereafter, the same bird strolled over aggressively to a pesky Snowy Egret who was poaching in his territory. Reddishes are solitary birds and they don't share their fishing grounds without a squabble. So I got ready to expect some fireworks...and was happy to capture the shot below, where the two birds look like they're dancing a ballet. "Egret Lake", perhaps?