Wednesday, May 3, 2023

The Egrets Have Returned...

 During a little spin around Lake of the Lilies, I noticed there was not one Mute Swan present.
On the grass area, in the water, where have all the beautiful Swans gone?
But one wonderful surprise was the Egret, 
walking toward me with pride, looking very stoutly and elegant.
I have much better pictures from past years but 
these are the ones I took during this first encounter this year.


Is that a turtle to the right on the stump, perhaps, maybe...


Getting a good look at his foot, I was sure he saw me,
and was walking right toward me.



I found this Mallard napping very comfortably in this tree, standing on one foot only.
It was a very cloudy day, and it rained after I left.
Our skies have been gray and cloudy and we have been getting a lot of rain.

In this terrible picture, you can see that the Ruddy Duck in the front is a male in breeding plumage.
They are generally a brown color with a brown beak.
Here the male is chestnut in color and has a bright blue bill.

- when you can't find the sunshine, be the sunshine -

11 comments:

eileeninmd said...

Hello Debbie

Beautiful captures of the Egret. I love the cute Ruddy duck with the blue bill. Take care, enjoy your day!

BeachGypsy said...

Hi Debbie I've never seen any of those blue bill ducks except here on your blog-- don't think we have those here. Love the blue color!-- very unique

Lowcarb team member said...

Always enjoyable to see your photographs ...

All the best Jan

The Furry Gnome said...

Great pictures Dennie!

Kay said...

Gorgeous pictures, Debbie. Egrets always look so elegant.

Marie Smith said...

Love the birds and the turtle is a huge bonus.

Sally said...

Oh so pretty! Your photos are always so wonderful.

p.s. buying flowers :)

xoxo

DeniseinVA said...

Real beauties, ours haven’t yet but soon I hope.

Jim and Barb's Adventures said...

Ruddy's are one of my favorite ducks from my childhood. We had some on a pond near us and I spent hours watching them.

Conniecrafter said...

Bummer about the swan but that is so cool that you saw the Egret, he looks pretty big too, must have not been afraid. Yes that looks like a turtle to me too, but I have been known to mistake things at time :)
I can't imagine sleeping on one leg.

Brian King said...

Nice to see the egret! It's not a bird I come across here often. That's curious about the swans. You've always taken wonderful photos of them. Maybe they'll still show up. It's cool to see waterfowl resting on one foot and, despite what I think, I guess it's comfortable.