All Dressed up in Mating Plumage
Cattle Egret
There is only one time of the year where I think these birds are really, really photogenic, and that’s during the breeding season. This bird found in 2008 at the Alligator Farm in St. Augustine FL, exhibits his full coloration of pale orange on the head, chest, shoulders, and back. Normally the bird is totally white with black legs which also turn an orange hue during the silly period. Found up and down the east coast these birds can be seen following cattle and even standing on their backs. The theory is that the wandering cattle will disturb all kinds of great things for the birds to eat and hence the name. They are never or rarely seen in the water, stand about 20” tall and weigh only around 12 ounces.
Like most of the egret family, they are a wary bird. Approaching them is one of those tricks that only can be learned from long periods of exasperation. One photographer friend of mine even had a theory that if you did not look the critter in the eye, you could approach them much closer than otherwise. That only produced a greater number of back of the bird shots. It does seem however, that if a bird is intent on feeding you can approach with much more success. Of course the most expensive wildlife blind in the world is a car. It seems that most wildlife is pretty used to them and you can approach reasonably easily, photographing from the windows as you go. Stop the car, however, to reduce vibrations and lens shake. As I have said in the past on these pages, sanctuaries such as the Alligator Farm offer the photographer ideal conditions. There you don’t even need a big lens and the amateurs with the point and shoots can do just as well as the pros in some cases.
http://www.alligatorfarm.com/
Cattle Egret
There is only one time of the year where I think these birds are really, really photogenic, and that’s during the breeding season. This bird found in 2008 at the Alligator Farm in St. Augustine FL, exhibits his full coloration of pale orange on the head, chest, shoulders, and back. Normally the bird is totally white with black legs which also turn an orange hue during the silly period. Found up and down the east coast these birds can be seen following cattle and even standing on their backs. The theory is that the wandering cattle will disturb all kinds of great things for the birds to eat and hence the name. They are never or rarely seen in the water, stand about 20” tall and weigh only around 12 ounces.
Like most of the egret family, they are a wary bird. Approaching them is one of those tricks that only can be learned from long periods of exasperation. One photographer friend of mine even had a theory that if you did not look the critter in the eye, you could approach them much closer than otherwise. That only produced a greater number of back of the bird shots. It does seem however, that if a bird is intent on feeding you can approach with much more success. Of course the most expensive wildlife blind in the world is a car. It seems that most wildlife is pretty used to them and you can approach reasonably easily, photographing from the windows as you go. Stop the car, however, to reduce vibrations and lens shake. As I have said in the past on these pages, sanctuaries such as the Alligator Farm offer the photographer ideal conditions. There you don’t even need a big lens and the amateurs with the point and shoots can do just as well as the pros in some cases.
http://www.alligatorfarm.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment