Snowy Egret In Breeding Plumage

A snowy egret grows long bushy feathers and has a bright red skin around the base of the beak in breeding season
A snowy egret grows long bushy feathers and has a bright red skin around the base of the beak in breeding season

Looking back through my archives, I came across these photos of a snowy egret in full breeding plumage. Because there are so many of these birds around my home, I often overlook them (everything ends up looking like a crow after awhile). But these photos stood out as they were taken at the height of breeding season, and this bird in particular had magnificent breeding colors.

A snowy egret grows long bushy feathers and has a bright red skin around the base of the beak in breeding season
A snowy egret grows long bushy feathers and has a bright red skin around the base of the beak in breeding season

As snowy egrets enter breeding season, their feathers become long and shaggy. When the they display, they can create a great fan of feathers with which to show off. In addition, a hormone in the body changes the pigment of their skin around the eye to a bright red.

Seeing these photos reminded me that birds are a living and breathing part of the natural world around us. Like much of nature, they change colors and shapes as the seasons change, and are constantly adapting to their environment.

Snowy Egret Feather Shake (Photo of the week)

A snowy egret shakes back and forth, rufflings its feathers.

This week’s photo is a snowy egret just after shaking his body to resettle its feathers. He had been fishing along the bank of a slough, and the wind kept disturbing his feathers. He shook his body vigorously to fluff all of his feathers, so that they could resettle into a natural insulating layer.

This type of shake will rearrange the micro-structure of a bird’s outer feathers, keeping water from penetrating the inner feathers. Usually a resettling of the feathers if followed by preening and a little oiling (if the bird has a preen gland). This egret didn’t bother preening at this time, as he seemed very focused on catching dinner.

Snowy Egret Reflection (Photo of the week)

A Snowy Egret is reflected in shallow water in early morning

This photo was take this week just after sunrise. When I got to the area in which I wanted to shoot, I looked for a spot next to a pond where lots of birds were congregating. As I approached that area, they all moved to the opposite side of the pond (as expected). However, I just sat down and waited, knowing they’d be back.

By lowering my tripod close to the ground and sitting behind it, I accomplished two things. First, I knew by my low profile and by keeping very still, the birds would stop perceiving me as a threat and move back to their original locations. Second, by getting down to their eye level, I could create more intimate images of the various species.

This egret actually showed up to the pond just after I did, apparently unaware (or uncaring) that I was hunkered down beside the shoreline.

Copyright 2017 Hank Christensen