Egrets

Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)
Great Egret (Egretta alba)

We were fortunate to actually see three different species of egrets (family Ardeidae); however, the cattle egret pictures did not come out. I will have to catch them later; they will not be hard to find. Cattle egrets are everywhere now, in fact they have gone through the most rapid and widespread range extention of any bird in modern times. They started out in Spain and N. Africa, but have spread to nearly every part of the world. They did not cross the Atlantic until 1950 starting out in S. America but have made their way into N. America today. But I like the snowy egret with his curly tail feathers, short stature, and especially the black legs and big yellow feet.