So, a Heron and an Egret Met at a Pond

I am not the sort of “birder” that travels around looking for specific species.  In fact, I only observe & film birds that come to our property.  For that reason, I don’t get many of the ‘fancy-like’ birds very often. I spot a Blue Heron maybe once a month during the summer season, a Great Egret even less frequently.

Here’s a Great Blue Heron I filmed last year, on July 13, 2022. Looking in my files, I see that I actually only filmed Great Blue Herons three times in 2022, but I may have seen them a few other times.

Yesterday, from a long distance away, I spotted something white across the pond. Shooting through the weeds, I wasn’t sure what I’d get in focus. As it turned out, it was an amazing (for me) situation of Egret vs Heron. Things happened so quickly and at such a long way away, I didn’t really take the time to do anything other than try to capture the action in focus!

I’ll post what I captured in sequence through this whole post. I only actually came to know what transpired once I reviewed the images at my desk.

Looking at the photos in that manner helped me realize that the bird I first spotted was a Great Egret wading in the water. However, before I could find a position where I could aim above the weeds, focus and shoot, it’s clear that a Great Blue Heron arrived just as I took the first shot of the Egret. The Egret, seemingly surprised the substantially large incoming bird, flew off. All the while, the Heron looks to be a bit surprised as he is “pulling up” to get grounded that a large white bird is scampering off.

Next, due to the massive wings flapping at the top of a nearby tree (to the West which was my right), I spotted Great Blue Heron #2. That bird appeared to be observing the incident that transpired between his likeness and the Egret. I don’t know if the Herons “knew” each other ( it’s very rare for me to see two of them at the same time at our pond) but they seemed to be regarding each other after the Egret left the scene.

Trying to move slowly to get a bit closer, my effort nonetheless caused the Heron in the tree to fly off which pulled the Heron standing at the pond’s edge to follow. As I gathered myself to move onward, directly in front of me, just beyond the south end of the pond, I spotted a Great Egret in flight. It’s wingspan was so expansive and it’s wing beats seemed both laborious but effortless at the same time. I tried to remain motionless so that it might land within my range. Lucky for me, it felt comfortable to do so, and ended up perching atop a tree, on what seemed like far too slight a branch for such a large bird. Not long thereafter, a second Egret arrived and landed nearby. I actually kept that action in focus – which isn’t easy for me, especially with a moving subject in a clear sky that is mostly white.

Whew! That was a lot for me to capture in such a short time at my normally pretty chill farm pond. I’m very happy to share the experience with you!