A type of heron
 

I'm sitting here sort of slack-jawed, looking out over the pond,
trying to get my motor running this morning, when this giant bird
lands not 15 feet from me and decides to check out the pond also. It's
kinda cold here (low 40s) and I have the sliding doors closed, so I'm
pretty sure the bird didn't see me. In any event, it flew off as I
tried to get a camera out, but not before I was able to note things
like the color of the beak (yellow-orange), the legs (black), and the
feet (also dark). I grabbed my Peterson Guide to Eastern Birds and
found that it is most likely a Great Egret (as opposed to a Mediocre
Egret, I suppose). I don't know much about it, except that it's in
the heron family and it doesn't seem to eat much duckweed.
..

A type of heron
 

On Sun, 7 Feb 2010 18:31:12 EST, Galen Hekhuis
wrote:

I'm sitting here sort of slack-jawed, looking out over the pond,
trying to get my motor running this morning, when this giant bird
lands not 15 feet from me and decides to check out the pond also. It's
kinda cold here (low 40s) and I have the sliding doors closed, so I'm
pretty sure the bird didn't see me. In any event, it flew off as I
tried to get a camera out, but not before I was able to note things
like the color of the beak (yellow-orange), the legs (black), and the
feet (also dark). I grabbed my Peterson Guide to Eastern Birds and
found that it is most likely a Great Egret (as opposed to a Mediocre
Egret, I suppose). I don't know much about it, except that it's in
the heron family and it doesn't seem to eat much duckweed.
.
That's fascinating, most people note the color of the bird itself. ;-)
~ jan
------------
Zone 7a, SE Washington State
Ponds: www.jjspond.us

A type of heron
 

On Sun, 7 Feb 2010 18:54:39 EST, ~ jan wrote:

On Sun, 7 Feb 2010 18:31:12 EST, Galen Hekhuis
wrote:

I'm sitting here sort of slack-jawed, looking out over the pond,
trying to get my motor running this morning, when this giant bird
lands not 15 feet from me and decides to check out the pond also. It's
kinda cold here (low 40s) and I have the sliding doors closed, so I'm
pretty sure the bird didn't see me. In any event, it flew off as I
tried to get a camera out, but not before I was able to note things
like the color of the beak (yellow-orange), the legs (black), and the
feet (also dark). I grabbed my Peterson Guide to Eastern Birds and
found that it is most likely a Great Egret (as opposed to a Mediocre
Egret, I suppose). I don't know much about it, except that it's in
the heron family and it doesn't seem to eat much duckweed.
.
That's fascinating, most people note the color of the bird itself. ;-)

Do you think that might be why I have such a hard time identifying
birds?

OK, it was a big *white* bird.
..

A type of heron
 

.
That's fascinating, most people note the color of the bird itself. ;-)

Do you think that might be why I have such a hard time identifying
birds?

OK, it was a big *white* bird.

LOL! I know the Egrets around here are white, but I don't know if all
Egrets are white, are they? Why I asked about coloration. :-) ~ jan
------------
Zone 7a, SE Washington State
Ponds: www.jjspond.us

A type of heron
 

Great White Egrets have also been called Great White Herons.
Is a big bird no matter what it is called!

kathy :-)

A type of heron
 

On Mon, 8 Feb 2010 08:01:18 EST, kathy wrote:

Great White Egrets have also been called Great White Herons.
Is a big bird no matter what it is called!

kathy :-)

According to my handy-dandy bird guide, great white herons hang around
south of me, and they also have yellow legs and feet. My bird had
black legs and feet, so I think it's probably an egret. However,
shortly thereafter the otter popped up and stared at the bubbles from
the aerator, then it went back underwater and swam all over the pond.
Most of the time it would swim under the duckweed where I couldn't
see, but every now and then the duckweed would ripple and clear, then
the otter would surface briefly and then submerge again, first here,
then there, then way over there. It is surprisingly (at least to me)
big and speedy.

Oh yeah, the otter is mostly *brown*, too.
..

A type of heron
 

On Mon, 8 Feb 2010 17:45:18 EST, Galen Hekhuis
wrote:

Oh yeah, the otter is mostly *brown*, too.
.
LOL! ~ jan
------------
Zone 7a, SE Washington State
Ponds: www.jjspond.us