Egretful

Egrets, as the song goes, I've had a few, but never so many as I had this weekend. On Saturday morning, I counted nineteen (possibly twenty) great egrets (Ardea alba) on the jobsite:

The birds, given their large size and snowy, showy plumage, really stand out. They were gathered around the watercourse that is all that currently remains of our onsite pond, which had to be drained of about seventy-five percent of its water because of a large construction project that we are currently undergoing. The confines of our once sizable pond are now an all-you-can-eat buffet for waders seeking easy pickings. The egrets congregate in large breeding colonies, and I imagine that this lot wandered in from a nearby green space (of which there are quite a few).

I didn't even attempt to approach these birds- they tend to be shy (for good reason), I merely sat quietly, watching them as they interacted- jockeying for good fishing spots, occasionally squabbling. It was a nice way to spend the early morning hours, with no regrets, but many egrets.