Leave it to me to be able to come up some unusual photographs. First, while roaming around Spring Creek Park, we spotted this Great Egret, (Ardea alba),doing a little fishing across the river. I maneuvered the car into position so I could get the shot from the driver’s side window, with my Canon 7D and 500mm lens with a 1.4 tele-converter attached.
I got several shots as he strolled along, stabbing the occasional small fish. It was after I got home and examined the images, that I noticed it had bright green lores. For you non-birders that is the area between the bill and the eyes. At first, I thought maybe it had gotten some algae stuck to it’s face while feeding. Heck, that happens to me at dinner. 🙂
Great Egret - breeding
So, first out come the bird guides, trying to find out about this mysterious malady. Didn’t find much info there, so I done a bit of googling on the internet and found that green lores can be found on breeding egrets. Aha, I said to myself, I have found out something new.
Wild Turkey - breeding
After getting the shots of the egrets, we came upon a trio of Wild Turkeys,(Meleagris gallopavo). The three were all toms and they were showing off to a hen that was out of sight on the other side of a fence. They all were putting on a show and I was able to get several images. I knew that they were aware of me because before I drove away, one of them decided to moon me.
Wild Turkey -mooning
Personally, I thought that was kind of rude, but these insults I can take. It comes with the job. Click on any image to see an enlargement.
I hope you enjoyed the images as much I enjoy being out and capturing them. Be sure to click on this link: Bird Quiz to vote in the latest quiz. Results will be published Friday.
Texas Tweeties by Bob Zeller 