Hunting Egret

It was a morning for the birds at Spring Lake. It was supposed to rain all day, but apparently the weatherman wasn't looking out the window when he made his predictions because it was misty and very still. 

We were earlier than usual and the birds were still in bed, but a noisy group of crows holding a board meeting in the top of a tree jockeying for position like a bunch of school children put paid to that.

The usual suspects began to appear along the shore of the still lake. The extra, a Bufflehead duck, is a diving duck…very entertaining as they go bottoms up and disappear under the surface of the lake for long periods of time. . Mallards stood with just their red feet submerged, gazing out over the lake, and pair of Canada geese, looking stately, cruised by,  A pair of swans puttered among the reeds on the opposite side of the lake.

In order to bypass the 10k race just getting under way, we took a muddy path next to the lagoon where the egret in his finest plumage was industriously pursuing  whatever it is egrets prefer to dine on. She wasn't the least bit interested in me as I crept closer. We see these birds everywhere, but not usually as intimately. They stalk their prey almost like cats, barely moving until they strike with such speed that I didn't realize I had caught it on "film" until I downloaded my pictures to the computer.