November 2, 2014

  • More Rain, and an Egret

    Between Halloween night and the next night, we have now had about 1/2 to 3/4 inches of rain.  This is a good start, but not yet a drought buster!  Tomorrow it will begin to warm up, and within a day or two we will have moved back to summer weather!  This afternoon I drove to Dana Point to see what had happened overnight.  The air was very clean, and there were a number of sailboats outside the harbor.  But imagine my surprise when I looked to the treetops to see my Great Blue Heron friends and saw this instead

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    Although there was one heron sitting in a nest, it seemed that overnight the bird had  been joined by an Egret!  I wish I could turn my head as far around as these birds can do!

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    It looks as if somebody has begun to build a new nest.

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    And one more shot of a beautiful white bird!

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Comments (22)

  • Egrets are so pretty - and you got great shots.

  • What a wonderful bird!

  • So exciting to see egrets ~ this one has me puzzled a bit ~ definitely the neck and head of a great egret, but the shorter legs of a cattle egret (winter) ~ hmmm ~ wish I could see it in person! :)

    • Judging by therange, the length of the neck and the length of the bill, this appears to me to be a Great Egret. There is a white Great Blue Heron also, but it has yellow legs. It's a beautiful bird! See my reply to murisopsis as well!

  • If you can catch the great egret in it's breeding phase, the feathers are amazing then.
    I'm glad that the you had another day of rain.

  • Oh!! How beautiful! Not that I'm tossing the herons but the egret is stunning. I hope you get some more rain soon.

    • Looking at the pictures in the bird book, there's a white morph Great Blue Heron, then the great egrets -- almost the same bird. (Great egret -- Ardea alba; Great Blue Heron -- Ardea herodias). You're definitely not tossing the herons! It's sunny and warming up to summer again today!

  • Hard to get a good picture of a bird that white.

    • The dark background helped with the white bird -- it wouldn't work against a bright cloudy sky!

  • I remember seeing an egret when I visited Doheny Beach, last Spring.

    • It could be the same bird -- or perhaps part of a family. This is a beautiful bird -- I hope it really plans to stay in these trees!

  • Building a nest?????

    That is a beautiful bird for sure.

    We need far, far more rain in my area, Janet. If the Weather Department in Heaven does not send us rain this Winter. next year is going to get ugly with restrictions.

    • All those twigs in the crotch of the tree look to me like the beginning of a nest! The egret is a magnificent bird -- I hope it stays! I agree about the rain -- I do hope that Prop 1 will help, and that there is more rain to come this winter. Southern California is already implementing restrictions, but they vry from city to city!

  • The egret looks so majestic. Great picture Janet. As always, great pictures.

  • I always enjoy your photos. I especially like the ones of the beach cottages that are being restored.

    • Thank you! It was interesting to see how the cottages have fared over the last year and a half!

  • It's so amazing to see those big birds in trees.

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