<< Previous Next >>

Cattle Egret


Cattle Egret
Photo Information
Copyright: Elroyie David (elroyie) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 394 W: 104 N: 1519] (6403)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2004-05-03
Categories: Birds
Camera: Canon EOS 300D, Canon 75-300mm ISUSM
Exposure: f/8, 1/1250 seconds
Photo Version: Original Version, Workshop
Theme(s): Wildlife of israel [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2004-08-12 4:42
Viewed: 1667
Points: 22
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
The cattle egret is a small white heron about 19-21 inches in length with a wingspan of about three feet. During breeding season it has a brownish crown and chest. Adults have yellow or orange legs and bills. Immature cattle egrets have black legs and bills.


The cattle egret breeds from California east to the Great Lakes and Maine and south to the Gulf Coast. It is also found in the tropics, South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa. The cattle egret is a non-native species in North America. It probably flew to South America from Africa and then moved up to the United States.

The cattle egret is most often found near farmland and livestock. It also is found in wetlands.

In Africa, the cattle egret eats insects that are stirred up by wild animals. They have adapted to following animals like cows in North America and eating insects like grasshoppers, crickets, spiders, and flies, that are disturbed by the livestock.
Both the male and the female work on building a nest. The male brings the materials, sometimes stealing sticks from the nests of other egrets, and the female constructs the nest. The nest is made of sticks and built in a bush or a tree. The female lays three to five eggs and both parents incubate the eggs. The chicks hatch in between three and four weeks and fledge when they are a month old. Both parents care for the chicks. Cattle egrets nest in colonies with other species of egrets.

Cattle egrets are very social. They gather in large colonies of cattle egrets and other bird species. In addition to following livestock, they also follow farm equipment like tractors to catch insects that are disturbed.

This note was taken from www.nhptv.org

This picture was taken after the harvest, a great combine gathered all the reminds and those egrets were looking for insects that their shelter was taken.
CaptiveLight, AndyB, ellis49, alainh, gerhardt, PDP, nwoehnl, mogens-j, zenitlady has marked this note useful
Only registered TrekNature members may rate photo notes.
Add Critique [Critiquing Guidelines] 
Only registered TrekNature members may write critiques.
Discussions
None
You must be logged in to start a discussion.

Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • olli (72)
  • [2004-08-12 5:18]

Technically very good shot. Exposing a white bird in flight must be quite difficult. Beautiful light. Great simple background with nice tones. I like the dark area at the top.
Very-very well done, elroyie.

Well done to capture this in flight, retaining the feather detail and keeping it sharp. Good image.

  • Great 
  • AndyB Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1391 W: 32 N: 1350] (3982)
  • [2004-08-12 8:28]

A great capture.
Excellent detail and a nice blurry background with good tones of colour.
A great note too.
Very well done.

Very good Elroyie.
You catch it very nice with very good sharpness.
Good colors and composision.
Great note
Well done

bonjour Elroyie
encore une photo d'une précision remarquable aux couleurs superbes.
la note est ŕ la hauteur de ta photo.
alain

Nice capture of the egret in flight. Details are sharp. I would have cropped the green border at top out, just a nit. Still a very nice photo, great work.

Hi Elroyie, Nice birdie, great on the wing capture. I did a WS. Hope you like it.

  • Great 
  • PDP Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor [C: 2821 W: 344 N: 3779] (11769)
  • [2004-08-12 16:14]

Beautiful! Nice and sharp, lots of detail, lovely.

You're really good at these in-flight shots, Elroyie. Again there is beautiful detail in the feathers, and the in-flight posture and the very focused look are wonderfully captured. Well done against the DOFed-out background.

Very nice shot of the flying heron Elroyie. I like the warm colours. The dof is spot on and no burn in the white feathers.Though I have to agree with Callie about the cropping.

I saw one of these many years ago on my property. At that time they were very rare in Southern Ontario Canada. Great capture of the egret in flight! You have shown him from head to large feet with great clarity. Well done!

Calibration Check
















0123456789ABCDEF