Postcard from the Edge (of the Marsh) 2

Circle of Friends 

There is probably no place in the salt marsh pond where the water is deeper than a foot or so. Despite the appearance of being a rather large body of water, it is more like a puddle where Lesser Yellowlegs barely have to get wet.

You may not see an Bald Eagle approach, but all the other birds will, and will let you know by taking to the air in alarm. Some will fly back and forth in a tight flock, eventually landing back in the same location from which they fled. This flock is made up of Blue-winged Teal and they are probably not as close to the Bald Eagle as they appear to be in this telephoto image. Telephoto lens flatten distance, but still, it was an odd moment when they flew right past the predator they were attempting to avoid.

The beauty of the Snowy Egret's wings needs no comment.

Snowy Egrets do not normally become vexed with one another. Perhaps that is less true as the breeding season approaches. They will often use the advance of another bird to drive fish toward them and pick them off. For some reason, this one was irritated with the other.

Once I have one or two basic images of a bird species, I start looking for other types of shots that might hold more interest. If the bird flies off, you will at least have gotten something. I liked this image of the Short-billed Dowitcher spreading it's wings and the quality of light in the beautiful reflection on the water.