Down the Hatch
This week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: Down. I must admit I got lucky for this one. During this morning’s FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival Horse Show, I was shooting at the Grand Hunter Ring, adjacent to a large pond where various water birds gathered hunting for fish. As I tried to focus on the show horses, I would periodically gaze over to the pond to check out the inhabitants. At one point there were several Great White Egrets fishing near the water’s edge.
During the next break, I crept over to side of the pond. One Egret was so focused on feeding that it didn’t notice me, and I was able to take a series of photos as it caught several small fish. It would quietly creep forward, neck stretched out, and then when it spied a fish it would slowly retract its neck into an S-shape and then quickly spear the water. Several times it came back up with small fish, which it would flip-up from the tip of its beak and into its mouth.
It was hard to tear myself away from the pond, but after about 1o minutes I felt guilty as I listened to the horses cantering by me in the show ring. I figured if I were in the office this would be the equivalent of taking a coffee break, but in this case it was much more rewarding than even a mocha latte.
Tricia Booker Photography 
Amazing shot Tricia. Love it
Thank you, Paul!
nice shot
http://amarnaik.wordpress.com/2012/02/18/weekly-photo-challenge-down/
Thank you! I enjoyed your take on Down as well!
What amazing colours!
Thank you! It was a pretty stunning bird!
I don’t think I’ve ever seen an egret. What a beautiful shade of green ringing the eye and joining it to the beak. Great shot!
Thanks, Laura! I’d seen them from a distance but never studied them. They do come in other shades as well I discovered when I did a little research. Florida has some interesting birds!
fabulous photo.
Thank you so much!
Beautiful
I appreciate your comment!
Stunning photo Tricia!!!
I didn’t know they had green around their eye. Great shot Tricia!