I didn’t find any raptors to speak of yesterday at Farmington Bay but I did find some highly agitated Snowy Egrets. This is one of them.
Yesterday morning at Farmington the Snowy Egrets were really feeling their oats. One minute they would all be peacefully basking in the warming sun and the next minute a mini-war would break out as two or more of them skirmished while squawking loudly. I got some interesting shots of fighting egrets but today I want to focus on a single bird and ‘his’ reaction to another egret that he thought was invading his personal space.
This egret took major exception to another egret that he thought was too close to him. I like this series for several reasons, including some interesting shadows and the increasingly ‘angry’ look on his face as he challenges the other bird. These first five photos are sequential shots in a burst with no skips that only lasted for 5/10ths of a second.
Here he’s beginning to rush the other egret out of frame to the right.
Then he accelerated toward his perceived opponent. I think the trademark “yellow slippers” of this species help to accentuate his speed and the seriousness of his intentions, especially when he…
really strides out. He didn’t appear to be in the mood to take any prisoners.
Here he lunged toward his opponent whose shadow can be seen on the right as the second egret took off to escape his wrath.
In this last shot of the sequential series the aggressor completes his lunge as the other egret, based on its shadow, flees the scene. In some of my photos parts of the second egret can be seen but I cropped that bird out because I think the shadow is more interesting and even mysterious than the actual bird.
I’m going to include one more photo, taken five frames and 1/2 second after this one, but because of an unusual shadow of the still-fleeing egret it needs some explanation.
The egret that took off headed directly toward the early morning sun (over my right shoulder) so its shadow remained on the pond bank for quite a few frames. Readers know that I’m a fan of quirky shadows and I think this one fits the bill. The actual shadow of the bird on the muddy bank, combined with the reflection of the same shadow in the water, produced what I think is a very interesting shape – sort of like two attached ellipses.
That shape reminds me of something that I believe is science related but what it is escapes me. It seems like it might be the orbital path of a subatomic particle or the orbital path of a planetary object but I simply can’t remember what it might be. Or maybe I’m imagining something that doesn’t exist.
Either way the shape of that shadow certainly caught my eye. And yes, I know, I can be more than a little weird.
Ron
Notes:
- Blog follower Shoreacres came up with the first answer I was looking for. That shadow reminded me of the symbol for infinity. But it was Den DiMarco who really hit the nail on the head. The strongest memory that I couldn’t retrieve was of the P-orbital I was exposed to many times in various chemistry classes. That’s why I referred to the possibility of the “orbital path of a subatomic particle” in my post.
- Some readers may take exception to me calling the egret “angry” in my title. Doing so may or may not be anthropomorphic (I don’t think it is) but it works for me.
“…but I simply can’t remember what it might be.” And I thought your next sentence was going to be, “only the shadow knows.” You really missed an ‘old guy joke’ opportunity. I guess I must be older that you. Never-the-less, as a science nerd, I’m glad you stayed focused on science because I always enjoy my morning biology lesson from you.
Well, for what it’s worth, an old lady got the “only the shadow knows” reference. If that helps at all?
Thanks, Dennis. The Shadow was mostly before my time (not by much) but I do recognize the quote.
Late to the party but totally, utterly delighted. And feeling a tad guilty about being delighted in the capture of someone else’s very bad mood.
I thought infinity too – and that bird certainly looks infinitely p-eed off. Analema is new to me, and it is wonderful to learn well before sun up.
EC, living in Oz you always have a perfect excuse for being late to this party. But in reality it’s never too late, at least not for 10 days when the comment feature for a post is automatically turned off.
What a series and what a beautiful if irritated creature! And there is really no more apt description for that egret’s VERY expressive countenance than “angry” (well, agitated works, too). In any case, your captures with the other bird’s shadow tell the story, even if we don’t know what caused the kerfuffle!
Thank you, Chris. With this species you often don’t know what set them off. It just happens.
Absolutely LOVE Snowy Egrets. And their bad ass attitude! Certainly makes for some really great photgraphy!
Yes, you can’t ask for a more interesting subject for behavioral shots. The downside with them is that they’re bright whites make it very difficult to expose them properly
Progressively angry indeed. Just when you think this is the ultimate angry bird, the next photo outdoes it. All in half a second. Wow. The last photo completes the series nicely. Having vanquished the foe, his kingdom is secure.
As Judy points out, the two-toned legs are impressive. If I had legs and feet like that I would be in shorts and barefoot all year long.
I see alligator eyes. Just when the Egret thought it was safe…
“If I had legs and feet like that I would be in shorts and barefoot all year long”
Lyle, I got far more than a chuckle out of that. I’m still guffawing and I’m not kidding. Maybe it’s because it brings up such a vivid image in my mind… 🙂
And I do see what you mean about “alligator eyes” in that shadow.
We are not the only species to experience emotions – as Darwin observed and wrote about more than 100 years ago. I think we can back down on the whole “anthropomorphic” bit. Seeing emotion in others is different from ascribing cute human commentary to these “other nations.” Can’t see you doing that, Ron!
Sally, whenever I make any reference to a bird or mammal having emotions there’s often someone out there who calls me out for being anthropomorphic. So I try to head them off at the pass… 🙂
Is it worth it? Heading them off at the pass? They are scientifically behind the times, and they insult our fellow life-travelers. I taught classes on raptors for the CA Raptor Center for many years, and always at a public event (as opposed to a school), I’d be hassled about “evolution.” I took to avoiding the word. I spoke instead of changes through generations, or “adaptation,” and so on, and usually got by.! At one State Fair, I was attacked (verbally) by a creationist. But he was a farmer, and I asked if he bred cattle, and had any crossbreeds? But after that kerfuffle, I just ignored them, and went on with my talk. I had hawks and owls (unreleasable and trained to the glove) to present and they always made a hit.
It’s worth it to me, at least so far it has been. It gets my point across at the get-go and besides I don’t have either the time or the inclination to deal with that kind of crap in the comments.
Hi, Ron ,
The orbital I believe you’re thinking of is the so-called P-orbital of any atom that has more than two electrons. The shadow and its reflection does reasonably resemble a P-orbital
Yes, yes that’s it Den!
https://www.britannica.com/science/orbital
I was remembering the P-orbital from my various chem classes even more strongly than I was the symbol for infinity. The memory just wasn’t strong enough for me to fully retrieve it.
Ron, I taught high school chemistry in the 70’s and was happy to convey that bit of knowledge to a guy who entertains me daily with wonderful photography and engaging feathery stories and education!
Those little herons can be feisty. I have seen them chase Little Blue Herons and other larger species.
Feisty indeed!
Wow what can happen in a split second!! The last shadow looks like a mask – or the bat signal! It’s also the shape of infinity (an 8 on it’s side). The background for these shots compliments the egret perfectly! The 2nd shot looks like the egret is walking on water! Love 🙂
Thanks, Kathleen. And you’re right, all this happened very fast.
I concur Kathleen!
Ron,
Wow, I woke up too late to contribute. I immediately thought of a superhero mask and the infinity symbol. But I learned a new word: analemma! The things you learn from this blog are amazing. And I am all for “anthropomorphic” depiction in animals! I have commented on “joy” before.
Stephen,
P.S. Oh, and the egret is beautiful as well. Nice shots and love the action, head feathers and feet!
Stephen, ‘analemma’ was new to me too. I knew what it was but if I ever knew its name unless I’d forgotten it.
Angry works for me. What an outstanding series. Love it. That guy or gal really looks angry. Love the raised crown and you can see the anger in its eyes. Get the hell out of here, this is my fishing area.
The infinity symbol looks like the Lone Ranger’s mask. 🙂
“this is my fishing area”
Everett, the unusual thing about all this is that I never saw any of the egrets actively fishing. They were just standing around, apparently enjoying the sun, and then without warning all hell would break loose.
Neat! What a wonderful sequence one would never see the details of without the “stop action” of photography. 🙂 Shadows tell the tale of the other Egret without actually seeing the bird. I’m with Shoreacres on the infinity symbol.. Love the 2-tone legs and bright yellow/gold feet. Quite the contrast to rest of the Egret!
36 here (tender plants in) Simms – about 50 miles W has 22 this morning. Then it will be in the 80’s again Sat. & Sun. – “Montana” 😉
Thanks, Judy. I saw where you mentioned yesterday on FB that it’s time to take the tomatoes in.
My “reminder” is much more pedestrian—the “Lone Ranger’s” mask !
But WOW– talk about “getting your hackles up ” ! I wouldn’t have imagined
such aggression from a bird that always impresses me as being the
picture of serenity !
Kris, I was a huge Lone Ranger fan as a kid and I didn’t even think of that one.
If any bird of any species has a mercurial personality, for me it’s the Snowy Egret. They’ll go off on each other in a flash and for no apparent reason.
I’m always a big fan of these social interaction shots (providing the aggression is not human-caused by thoughtless acts like throwing breadcrumbs etc which just makes me anxious and annoyed) so this series certainly gets my corpuscles stirring. The shadow might well resemble the sign for infinity, but my first thought was that the shape with its pointed ends more closely resembled a Hallowe’en/Mardi Gras eye mask.
Stirring corpuscles are always a good thing!
And I see what you mean about the Mardi Gras mask.
The shadow also reminded me of an analemma. To be able to use that word has made my day! Thank you Ron. And I am also still happy about pantaloons
You’re right, Frances. It’s also similar to an analemma, even though I believe an analemma is less symmetrical.
And you can thank Elephant’s Child for “pantaloons”. She was the one who originally came up with it in the context of birds.
Does the shadow remind you of a mobius strip (an infinite loop)?
Yup, that’s it Kathryn. See the note I just added to the end of the post.
The last photo? The first thing I thought of was the symbol for infinity — and that’s certainly appropriate, since the behavior of birds is infinitely interesting!
Dang, I think you’re right Shoreacres.