The Great Egret

Mr Science and I had decided on an outing in the backwaters of the Mississippi. He is not quite the devoted fisherman that I am so we usually combine a lot of exploring with a little fishing (unless they're really biting like crazy). On this particular day it was mostly poking about looking for shorebirds. Let's call it a Great Egret Day


The first one we spotted was high above a backwater shoreline.

Around the next bend it appeared that several had joined a flock of Canada Geese. More appeared as we drifted slowly along in the current.

Great egrets are found near water, salt or fresh, and feed in wetlands, streams, ponds, tidal flats, and other areas. They snare prey by walking slowly or standing still for long periods, waiting for an animal to come within range of their long necks and blade-like bills. The deathblow is delivered with a quick thrust of the sharp bill, and the prey is swallowed whole. Fish are a dietary staple, but great egrets use similar techniques to eat amphibians, reptiles, mice, and other small animals.

The Father of Waters is a busy waterway. The main channel a major economic artery and recreational boating area. And yet.... Off the beaten path in a maze of quiet channels you can almost forget train and motor traffic in the distance. The small towns along the river might have a "noon whistle" you can vaguely hear far away. Still, its easy to drift into the thought that you are in a remote wilderness. The call of the birds. Eagles and ospreys drift overhead. The splash of a hungry bass. A muskrat paddling hurriedly for shore. Water lilies blooming along the edge. Alone or with a good friend.

It's a place I like to spend a lazy summer day.