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Scouting...
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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
This photo is from another hide than the previous photo of this specie (you know... Marilyn ;o)
I think it is OK as it shows so well some of the typical details for this species, the almost black legs with the yellow feets and the light blue field between the eye and the bill.
The Little Egret (Egretta garzetta/silkeshäger) is very common in the wetlands of southern France. You see them almost all the time. However in Sweden were we live, they are very rare so it is wonderful for us to get such close views of them.
In the bird reserve Le Teich, there are more than 20 hides so it is easy to find one for your self (at least in April when we were there).
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Geographic info:
This is photo is from a hide in Le Teich bird reserve in the southeast part of the bassain d’Arcachon to the west of Bordeaux in France.
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Technical information:
No crop at all in this photo
I took this photo from a hide, in rawformat and used Adobe Lightroom for some adjustments before the edit in Photoshop CS2 as my CS3 beta expired and have not yet received the sharp version
Just white balance and a bit hue
Sharpening with Photokit capture sharpener
Lots of details in the BG did that I had to save this JPG with the quality at just 4 instead of the normal 9 or so. I am not sure how this affect the final image...
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About the specie:
From Wikipedia:
The Little Egret, Egretta garzetta is a small white heron. It is the Old World counterpart to the very similar New World Snowy Egret.
Subspecies:
There are at least two subspecies of Little Egret. The nominate subspecies E. g. garzetta occurs in Europe, Africa and Asia. E. g. nigripes breeds in Indonesia and Australasia. Those in Australia are sometimes thought to represent a third subspecies E. g. immaculata.
Several other egret taxa have at times been classified as subspecies of the Little Egret in the past but are now regarded as separate species. The Western Reef-Egret, Egretta gularis occurs on the coastline of West Africa (race gularis) and from the Red Sea to India (race schistacea). The Dimorphic Egret, Egretta (garzetta/gularis) dimorpha is found in East Africa, Madagascar, the Comoros and the Aldabra Islands.
Description:
The adult Little Egret is 55–65 cm long with an 88–106 cm wingspan. It weighs 350–550 grams. Its plumage is all white. It has long black legs with yellow feet and a slim black bill. There is . In the breeding season, the adult has two long nape plumes and gauzy plumes on the back and breast. The bare skin between the bill and eyes becomes red or blue. Juveniles are similar to non-breeding adults but have duller legs and feet. The subspecies garzetta has yellow feet and a bare patch of grey-green skin between the bill and eyes, whereas nigripes has yellow skin between the bill and eye and blackish feet.
Little Egrets are mostly silent but make various croaking and bubbling calls at their breeding colonies and produce a harsh alarm call when disturbed.
Distribution and habitat:
Its original breeding distribution was large inland wetlands and coastal wetlands in warm temperate parts of Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia.
In warmer locations, most birds are permanent residents; northern populations, including many European birds, migrate to Africa and southern Asia. They may also wander north after the breeding season, which presumably has led to this egret's range expansion.
Colonization of the New World:
The Little Egret has now started to colonize the New World. The first record there was on Barbados in April 1954. It began breeding on the island in 1994. Birds are seen with increasing regularity and have occurred from Surinam and Brazil in the south to Newfoundland and Quebec in the north. Birds on the east coast of North America are thought to have moved north with Snowy Egrets from the Caribbean.
Northward spread in Europe:
Until the 1950s, the Little Egret was restricted to southern Europe. Over the next few decades it became increasingly common in western France and later on the north coast. It bred in the Netherlands in 1979 with further breeding in the 1990s.
In Great Britain it was rare until the late twentieth century and almost certainly did not breed. In contrast, it has for just over a decade now become a regular breeding species and is commonly sighted, often in large numbers at favoured coastal sites. The first breeding record is generally accepted as having been on Brownsea Island in Dorset in 1996, although it has been claimed that the species bred in Sussex in the 1970s [2]. There are now several colonies across southern England and the species bred in Wales for the first time in 2002.
In Ireland the species bred for the first time in 1997 at a site in County Cork.
Reproduction:
The Little Egret nests in colonies, often with other wading birds, usually on platforms of sticks in trees or shrubs or in a reedbed or bamboo grove. In some locations such as the Cape Verde Islands, the species nests on cliffs. Pairs defend a small breeding territory, usually extending around 3–4 m from the nest. The three to five eggs are incubated by both adults for 21–25 days to hatching. They are oval in shape and have a pale, non-glossy, blue-green colour. The young birds are covered in white down feathers, are cared for by both parents and fledge after 40 to 45 days.
Feeding:
This egret stalks its prey in shallow water, often running with raised wings or shuffling its feet. It may also stand still and wait to ambush prey. It eats a variety of small animals including fish, amphibians, crustaceans, and insects.
Conservation:
At one time, the plumes of the Little Egret and other egrets were in demand for decorating hats. They had been used for this purpose since at least the 17th century but in the 19th century it became a major craze and the number of egret skins passing through dealers reached into the millions. Egret farms were set up where the birds could be plucked without being killed but most of the supply was obtained by hunting which reduced the population of the species to dangerously low levels (stimulating the establishment of Britain's Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in 1889). Now conservation laws protect this species, and the population has rebounded strongly. |
garyfudge, uleko, jaycee, ellis49, Argus, GLEM, livios, stevkds, jwmunro, jeanpaul, SelenE has marked this note useful
Only registered TrekNature members may rate photo notes. |
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- uleko
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2585 W: 170 N: 7879]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-g-g.gif)
(24911) - [2007-05-19 9:52]
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Hej Bengt,
Le Teich sounds like a fantastic place for birdwatching!! Excellent capture of this Little Egret in an upright pose displying his plumes. Great sharpness and nice "whites". I like the composition very much.
Many thanks and best wishes, Ulla
Hi Bengt,
I really like these proper hide shots. They have a real clandestine look to them. A secret view into their world.
Once again a super shot, love the foot detail.
Gary
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- jaycee
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1911 W: 8 N: 4976]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-n-g.gif)
(16095) - [2007-05-19 10:23]
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Hi Bengt,
This shot is not just okay - it is wonderful. You have captured the Egret in a wonderful position showing him off in great detail from head to toe. Colors are wonderful and the setting is beautiful. Lovely comp.
Jane
Hej Bengt,
a fine picture of egrethägern,
The sharpness and exporure are spot on.
I like the pose nad the POV too.
Very well done.
det verkar som om du har haft en fin resa med all fina bilder
som har visat. Hur f-n kan du få med så mycket text?
Jag får aldrig med mer än hälfen av vad du har skrivit.
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- Argus
(24857)
- [2007-05-19 12:15]
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Hej Bengt,
Superb sharp and well composed capture of the silkeshäger, once again in breeding plumage.
How marvellous it is to be able to take shots like this from a hide. We don't have enough hides in our country!
TFS,
Mvh, Ivan
Läste ditt svar till Gert. 9000 tusen bilder!
Wow! Åker du husbil till Kroatien?
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- GLEM
(5741)
- [2007-05-19 12:31]
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bonjour Bengt,
quelle hauteur sur pattes...il ne fallait pas être trop proche pour qu'il entre dans le cadre :)
Très belle image, sobre et bien maîtrisée dans les blancs. Belle netteté d'ensemble.
gl
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- livios
(16856)
- [2007-05-19 12:32]
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Bengt, a beauty indeed.
Great pose and composition. Your picture teaches about the environment of the bird too.
Great job.
Hi Bengt,
perfect shot. Nice capture with excellent sharpness and colours. Well done. tfs. Stev
Hello Bengt -
A very nice portrait of this great bird. I like that you can see the complete bird standing tall. Exposure is spot and the image is very sharp. I think the BG is a little disturbing and over sharp. I wonder if f/4 would have helped. Well done!
Thank you for sharing.
John
Salut Bengt
Superbe de photo de cette jolie aigrette après chercher son repas, les couleurs sont ravissantes les détails sont très bien définis au niveau du plumage et très beau cadrage.
Bravo et a la prochaine....JP
Magnifique, très clair, belle composition.
Bravo
Marie
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- SelenE
(12926)
- [2007-06-08 8:09]
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Hi Bengt,
Beautiful photo of Marilyn :o) Composition, color tones and the light is very good. Good exposure handling on the white plumage. Well done and TFS
Selen
![Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 286 W: 11 N: 419]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-s-g.gif)
(1705)![Silver Star Critiquer/Silver Note Writer [C: 12 W: 2 N: 13]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/s-n-s.gif)
(49)