In January, a group from the Citrus County Audubon Society visited Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. It is over on the east coast of Florida near the Kennedy Space Center. One sought after bird there is the Reddish Egret. But prior years’ looks at them have been at significant distance and with poor lighting. That all changed this time.
We started out on the one way Black Point Drive. After viewing a few Bonapart’s Gulls mixed in with some Northern Pintail Ducks, we came upon this Reddish Egret as it frenetically hunted the shallows for small fish. Given its super aggressive method of foraging, I liken its feeding behavior to how already active feeding Snowy Egrets might behave if they were on steroids.
Here is the Reddish as it flips a small fish in its bill. Given that it typically hunts in water that is only three to ten inches deep and that holds mostly small fish, it takes a number of successes during a feeding period to provide enough sustenance for itself.
Soon a second Reddish Egret arrived. That didn’t keep the first one from grabbing another fish as shown here. I believe the second bird is what’s known as a dark morph.
After swallowing the latest victim, the successful bird appears to be laughing in this shot as the other bird looks on.
After all that action, the successful bird took a bit of time to display its feathered finery. Even as it does so in this photo, it is looking down for or at another fish.
