Moments From Nature's Secrets

Saturday, June 25, 2016

Mikepércs: Great White Egret, Coots and Ferruginous Ducks

Today I try to get some backlight photos at the pond again. I wake up at 3 so that I can set off early. There's no problem with starting but on my way to the pond my car gets stuck in a puddle on the dirt-road. It's because my silly mistake only. I try to get out for a while, but I have to realize that it's not a ten minutes' work, so I leave the car in the puddle and continue my way on foot. It takes me about half an hour to get to my hide, and by the time I get there it's getting light. I can see coots and a grey heron in the middle of the pond which get away quickly when seeing me. I get into the hide quickly and start to wait for the birds to appear. Soon the Sun appears when I notice a great white egret in the water. It must have arrived a few moments ago. It starts hunting at once:

Great White Egret

It' picking tadpoles out of the water:

Great White Egret

Great White Egret

Great White Egret

Great White Egret

A bit later I notice something interesting: First I think I can see a grebe, as it's plunging into the water, but I discover soon that it's a pygmy cormorant! I haven't seen it here before. Unfortunately it's far a bit. Soon it climbs on a dried stem to dry itself, but it's not visible enough because of the vegetation.
A ferruginous duck appears too:

Ferruginous Duck

I try to record the coots as well:

Coot

Coot

Other ferruginous ducks appear, bathing one after another:

Ferruginous Duck

Ferruginous Duck

The Sun is getting high quickly, lights are getting stronger and stronger, and my car annoys me too, so I don't stay long in the hide. But I think it's been worth coming.