A Snowy Egret sighting

This is actually my second post for October 13th.  So much went on in the backyard today that I needed to break it up lest one post get way too long.

To get down to business, I see a lot of great egrets in the backyard, but snowy egrets are relatively rare and I see those maybe a few times a year if I'm lucky.  They are a good bit smaller than the great egrets and I think they are actually prettier.  I was excited to see this one land on a pipe in the canal that's used to keep a sprinkler intake afloat.  He made a pretty picture against the blue of the water on a sunny afternoon with his heron-like white crest feathers and bright yellow feet.  The backs of his legs are also yellow indicating that this is a juvenile and not a full grown adult which would have black legs and just its feet would be yellow.

Snowy egret poses on a sunny afternoon

In contrast, here is a photo of the great egret that visited the backyard this afternoon after spending some time across the canal.  He is much taller than the snowy and tends to keep his neck extended upward.  His beak is all yellow and his legs and feet are black. 

Not as pretty as his snowy cousin

Two herons also visited today so we saw a lot of birds in that species family.  One was a smallish thin tricolor heron who stopped on the dock and later along the canal hanging out for a while with a turtle and taking the sun.  Later he was fishing across the canal.  This photo is a typical serene backyard scene (serene when there are no ducks around making a commotion).  I find it really relaxing to go outside and take a break from a stressful work day and enjoy views like this.

The warm sun feels good to both of these backyard visitors

The other heron was a green heron who stopped on the dead tree limb in the canal that was a great perching spot before the top broke off.  He wasn't too comfy so he dropped down to the water's edge and was chased away screaming by a gallinule down there who claims that as his turf.

Uncomfortable looking perch

Ani was on the dock today, sitting and sometimes drying off after her fishing expeditions.  She's a female anhinga which you can tell from her light colored head and neck.  In a male, it's black.

Nice afternoon to relax

We almost had some serious drama today involving a pied-billed grebe and a tuxedo cat.  The grebe was in the canal fishing and got closer and closer to the shore.  Unbeknownst to him, he was being stalked by a cat who just hoped Mr. Grebe would come out of the water, or at least close enough to shore that he wouldn't have to get more than the tips of his paws wet.  Luckily for the grebe, he didn't.  Grebes almost never do and I've never seen one on land even for a moment.  I guess the cat didn't know that and he invested a lot of time to find it out.

To the cat, this guy's name was "Dinner"

That grebe is just such a tease!