At the time this was shot up above there was a lot of fighting and pushing for territory. A few branches down this Great Egret was looking for a peaceful spot to rest.
While these birds sit near the water like this I have seen it go bad for them on a rare occasion.
I’m not sure I would hang around here.
Taken in a dry swamp area. With little to no water the hunting was easy. This Egret was one of many that crowded around an old unused rookery.
Sculpture Garden (12)
There is a lot going on here. And yes, a NYC public beach can look like this… only a bigger crowd.
Most the photographs lately in a watering hole have been down at my level. There is always a lot happening when all the animals are in a crowd.
While they are all pushing and feeding predators are watching for any opportunity.
If an Eagle is really hungry even the big birds can be targets. Surprising at this time none of the small shore birds panicked while this Eagle circled around.
The ‘tent’ camp meetings were started when a traveling preacher did the ‘riding circuits’ of the small southern communities.
The campgrounds began in the late 1700’s. Several still exist, and have camp meetings.
Meetings are held here mid September each year as they have for several hundred years.
This was our second visit to this camp and we were able to get even more detailed information. It is quite an experience to wander and photograph living history.
This Heron was working the edge of a swamp. Shallow water, probably just enough to have this weed grow.
A few have been around however no sign of any interest in nesting. This bird is only barely showing some of the usual bright colors.
If a few more show up maybe some may move out to the bigger swamp island. The little rookery would still be empty but at least it’s a start.
The sound was like heavy wooden sticks, spindles maybe, hitting each other. Obviously it wasn’t we were in a wildlife management area.
The Wood Storks were snapping and grabbing each other. That’s something you don’t see every day. They were also doing their own version of the ‘squawk’.
These photographs also show how tall the storks are. These are Snowy Egrets all around them.
They also bumped into a Great Egret that kept his cool, he walked by doing his best to ignore the threat.
He pushed right by, but if look you will see him keeping a close eye on these bigger Storks.
