March 5, 2017 - Sanibel - Reddish Egret

During our January trip to Sanibel Island, Florida, I photographed several Reddish Egrets along the wildlife drive at Ding Darling NWR. The early morning light gives a pinkish tint to the bird in this photo.

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This Reddish Egret was photographed on a cloudy day. Notice how different the bird’s plumage looks without the sun shining on it. Reddish Egrets are North America’s rarest member of the heron family. The online reference “Birds of North America” says there are about 2000 pairs in the United States. They also occur in Mexico and the Caribbean.

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The water was very calm when I took this picture and that gave a very nice reflection of the bird. Notice the white feathers in this egret’s tail.

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Here’s a better look at how many white feathers this bird has. Most Reddish Egrets have all gray feathers on the body and reddish feathers on the head and neck. “Birds of North America” says that a few of them have some white feathers like this bird and it calls them pied (meaning two or more colors in blotches). Notice the band on its right leg. There is also a totally white morph of the Reddish Egret.

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Reddish Egrets hunt for their food in shallow water and their diet consists almost exclusively of small fish. One of their hunting techniques is to stand still with their wings outstretched. The shade from their wings apparently attracts fish bringing them close enough for the egret to snatch.

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Another fishing method used by Reddish Egrets is to run in shallow water with their wings out. Small fish are startled by the action and that helps the egret to locate and catch them.

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For this photo, my camera was set at 1/2000 second. Speeds like that can produce some very interesting effects. The impact of the bird’s head entering the water appears to produce a “depression” in the surface of the water. Also, the displaced droplets of water are suspended in the air.

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