Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)
The Little Egret is a small white heron and is very similar Snowy Egret, in fact I don’t know how these experts tell them apart. The Snowy is slightly smaller and the yellow around the eye extends down to the beak..
The little Egret is an all white bird with a long beak and black around it’s yellow eye. It looks as though it is wearing yellow socks, which you can clearly see in my photos. It grows to approx. 55–65 cm long with an 88–106 cm wingspan.
Little Egrets eat fish, insects, amphibians, crustaceans, and reptiles. Stalking their prey in shallow water, they often run wings up or jump in the air to land near the small fish. They will also stand still and wait for their prey to venture close enough to strike.
They nest in colonies, laying 3 or more eggs and both parents are involved in raising the young that leave the nest after approx. 6 to 7 weeks.
A few Photos I’ve just captured… played “hooky” from my office and went to a bird hide I love.. got a quick 130 photos of which 60 are OK.. just shows one shouldn’t sneak off…..
The Photographic Journey of bulldog. 
In the last photo, it looks like it’s dancing on the water!
Thank you.. one of it’s many almost karate type moves to capture it’s prey off guard… I love watching them when feeding…
I love, love, love egrets! Love the water in that last one..so pretty 🙂 Are you getting your eyes done?? Where have you gone??? We need our Bulldog “fix”!!!
Last Friday I got a call from my son that we were flying out of the city to him for the weekend… since then I’m still stuck down here computerless… struggling to get a flight back… all sorts have been stopping flights in .. it’s a bush airport with no such thing as Instrument Landing assist etc.. so weather and the like has a bit of a hold up on things… hopefully flying out tomorrow… but sold a program whilst down here so it wasn’t for nothing and it’s nice to see the kids and grand kids… be back soon…
WOO-HOO!! YOU SOLD A PROGRAM!! Soon you’ll be having your private pilot jet you down to visit your son whenever you feel like it 🙂 GO BULLDOG GO!!
I’ve seen a similar bird close to waters outside Houston. Beautiful and graceful creatures.
They are just that.. thank you..
I take many photographs of mute swans in the UK who are as adults coloured white. The white makes for great photos against water and green vegetation.
Thanks Alex.. that it does…
WOW – that bird is so well behaved and I’m pretty sure it loved you taking these pic! Well done 🙂
Thank you… felt as though it was posing for me…
Love love love this series!! The first view is so pleasing to the eye with this white egret surrounded by the greenery and with the glassy ripples with his reflection. Great strut shot and the one that looks like it is dancing made me smile.
Thank you again .. I was happy with this set of photos…
What stunning photo’s, BD. The last two remind me of a ballerina, balancing tippie-toe! Beautiful!
thank you so much… it is always nice when the birds co-operate for a few such captures…
Lovely shots Bulldog and I love his yellow slippers. 🙂
Thanks LuAnn…
So delicate and bright white. What was Mother Nature thinking?
virginal marriage.??
Perhaps. Only to be found among the egrets…
Great post for showing the difference between the two types of egrets. Very timely as we’ve seen Zannyro’s egrets, which must be snowy? with the yellow around their beaks? Do I have that right? Both kinds are elegant looking birds.
I think you are right.. I’m actually waiting for her to comment… I do think hers is the snowy…
I just love egrets and herons–they are graceful and seem so peacefully majestic. No assertion of power, just light! The reflections in the photos are really beautiful and add to the magical quality of these creatures. I have had a few opportunities to be close to these birds, but not often enough! Once, believe it or not, in our very suburban backyard, I caught one “fishing” in our pond. I was utterly speechless and couldn’t get to a camera or I’d have missed the feeding. Poor fish, but I couldn’t stop it! 🙂
I also got pictures of the Grey Heron at the same place .. they will be posted probably tomorrow… it was so nice to get to the hide and to have it to myself… wonderful..
OMG I LOVE Snowy Egrets!!! OH YOUR SO LUCKY!!!!
Why am I so lucky… these type birds are all over the world…
Not in WISCONSIN LOL If they are I haven’t seen them. Last I saw one I lived in Georgia that was like 12 years ago. I never had seen one before living in Iowa I was SO excited to see my first one. I had heard about them in a movie with Jack Nickelson called the Witches Of Eastwick. I’d been curious to see them.
This is so beautiful so beautiful, I loved how you captured them. Thank you dear Rob, love, nia
Thank you Nia.. my pleasure…
A very pretty bird…sneaking away from the office…I call that mental health time!
I do agree.. an hour with the camera is the same as a day off… but I’m the boss of my own time… but just a bad boss to work for…
I bet you’re a great boss! Firm but fair…right????
tend to over work myself… don’t know when to rest…
In the second to last picture he/she looks like a Ninja about to strike, hehehe.
He does… thanks for the comment..
I love the action shots.
Thanks Julie…
Beautiful pics. We get these birds here too. They’re beautiful. Glad you were able to sneak from the office away for a while. 🙂
Thanks are you back in SA??
These little fellows are pretty widespread all over the world as far as I know…
No we come back only middle of March.
Great shots. Very interesting, the slight little differences between the little and snowy.
Thank you.. yes so small with my eyesight I’ll have to get back to the computer to see which one I’ve captured…
lovely snaps
Thank you.. and nobody missed me…