When I was visiting Connie in Texas, we went to an area with lots of waterfowl (Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge? … help me out, Connie) and we found lots of them to photograph. As I reviewed some of my photos from that afternoon, I discovered a couple of birds I thought were interesting. The first, a white ibis, is interesting to me because it blinks in one of the shots which shows the nictitating membrane covering its blue eye. In the third ibis shot, a fly or bug of some sort has landed on its beak and it appears that the ibis is looking at it. The next three shots are of a snowy egret whose distinctive feature is its yellow feet at the end of black legs. In this series, the egret plunges into the water, emerges with something in its beak and then continues on its quest for food, lifting its yellow foot out of the water.
I miss the Gulf birds. Love to watch them! Great shots!
Carol, these are some beautiful shots! Yes, these were at Shoveler Pond at Anahuac NWR. The Egret’s hunting technique was to stir up the bottom veg/mud with his toes. When the little critters ran away from the bi yellow toes . . . WHACK!!! a little tidbit for the Egret. They were most likely getting crayfish. Glad you are enjoying your Texas photos – you have some beauties.
Thanks, Connie. I didn’t realize that yellow foot had a distinct purpose . Thanks for the information and for
the confirmation of our location–I thought I’d remember all the places. Silly me!