My bike ride this morning

[Kerbie]

Originally Posted by catdaddy

BTW-I think you've got a Great Egret pictured there. Yellowish bill and lack of crest are best distinguishing field marks for Greats versus Snowy that appear in your photo. If feet are visible the Snowy's are bright yellow while the Great's are black. I don't see any hint of yellow in the shallow water where the feet are planted.

Hi Cat, I debated that too. The bill wasn't as yellow as most Greats which made me think decide it was a Snowy. I actually wondered if it might have been young... maybe a "teenager." It was a little large for a Snowy, but was a little smaller than most Greats. So, you could easily be right. I know those two birds pretty well, but I didn't have binocs which would have helped a lot, particularly with the feet. Regardless, he was gorgeous and it's always nice when the water is calm enough to produce a nice reflection.

[Acousticado]

Looking at the egret more closely and referencing other online photos, I now think it’s a Great Egret. It seems bigger than a Snowy. Here’s a comparative photo. I think the Great also has more of a kink in the neck.

[catdaddy]

Originally Posted by Kerbie

Hi Cat, I debated that too. The bill wasn't as yellow as most Greats which made me think decide it was a Snowy. I actually wondered if it might have been young... maybe a "teenager." It was a little large for a Snowy, but was a little smaller than most Greats. So, you could easily be right. I know those two birds pretty well, but I didn't have binocs which would have helped a lot, particularly with the feet. Regardless, he was gorgeous and it's always nice when the water is calm enough to produce a nice reflection.

Adolescent wading birds are a confusing lot. A young Great certainly resembles a Snowy. The most problematic for me is the adolescent Little Blue Heron which has completely white plumage (very much different than the blue-gray adult), and resembles both the Great and Snowy egret to such an extent that it can be confused for either.

And to complete the mess of accurate identification among these closely related species there are the rare "white phases" of the Great Blue Heron and Reddish Egret which share habitat with all of the above.

[Kerbie]

Agree, Cat... but the immature blue's beak is totally different. I'm just getting older and need my binocs!

[Kerbie]

And just to bore you guys even more, a few from today...

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[saxonblue]

Originally Posted by Kerbie

And just to bore you guys even more, a few from today...

Lol, not boring anybody Kerbie, shots are great, wishing I was down our coast today. I'm about to go for a ride myself. We're having a public holiday today both in Australia & New Zealand (Anzac Day).

To make it even better we're still revelling in a bit of an indian summer as Bruce alluded to. Chilly nights but getting up to 27 deg C (80F), still & sunny in Canberra today.

[Cabarone]

Wow...just...wow...

[Kerbie]

And a few more from this morning...

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Beautiful place to ride!

[Kerbie]

Almost forgot an Anhinga and a Snowy...

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[Dirk Hofman]

Originally Posted by Kerbie

And just to bore you guys even more, a few from today...

Looks beautiful, thanks for sharing.

[BrunoBlack]

These are great Kerbie. Looks like a great place to put in a canoe.

[Kerbie]

Thanks, guys. I appreciate all the comments. It's a pretty place to do a lot of things... walking, hiking, biking, birding and just sitting enjoying nature.

I've been vacationing here since 1991 and it has been interesting to watch all the changes. One of them has been a dramatic increase in the number of Anhingas in the last few years. In the second-to-last photo, that Anhinga flew towards me and landed on the tidal trunk and faced me. He was probably about 20' away from me and I thought, "Oh, it would be such a better picture if he would turn around and dry his wings." Sure enough, in less than 10 seconds, that's exactly what he did. I was amazed...

[music2myears]

Yes, looks like a perfect place to ride and “get lifted”. Thanks for sharing.

[Dru Edwards]

Great pics, Kerbie. That green makes me happy summer is coming (the snow has just melted here).