Jordan Lake. On rare occasions I see a snowy egret at the lake. These brilliantly white birds breed in our mostly coastal areas and visit inland in small numbers. Note the very yellow “gloves” on its feet which are a great field identification.

snowy egret

Ranger Cove, Jordan Lake Neighborhood
 
The glitter of a ruby-throated hummingbird against the soft glow my lens made of the background foliage.
A quizzical northern cardinal made me smile.
 
Bright eyes, startling gold against the iridescent deep purple-black of a common grackle.
The snowy egret’s translucence allows you to see the bones and joints of its wing: of its shoulder, elbow, wrist and fingers.
Note too that his feet have yellow socks!
 
Perched probably 60 feet up at the top of a tree, it is a little startling to see an immature great blue heron surveying the cove.
Actually great blue herons of all ages often spend a great deal of time way up in tall trees.

My ramble in the Jordan Lake Neighborhood!
Ranger Mom and the Osprey
Had a disagreement: Uh oh.  The osprey started it.  Dove on the bald eagle several times.
Eagle yelled but didn’t go anywhere.  Having thumbed its beak at the bigger raptor the osprey flew back to its nest.
Eagle went back to glaring at the world.
Female hooded merganser – they always have a bad hair day.
Carolina chickadee – do you see the legs of his breakfast insect hanging out each side of his beak?
Solitary sandpiper. These are usually found in our coastal areas. There was a pair of them visiting the Ranger eagle nest cove.
Rusty blackbird. This is the first one I have seen at Jordan Lake. I usually find them on the Outer Banks.
Wood duck drake. Isn’t his eye a startling color! This is normal for an adult male.
A pair of snowy egrets were escorted across the cove by a red-winged blackbird.
An immature male summer tanager. A summer visitor. When he matures he will be feathered in solid orange plumage.

This was a mixed flock of egrets that passed over me at Jordan Lake.
The large birds are great egrets.
The 3 smaller birds are snowy egrets.
It is fairly common for me to see the great egrets during the warm months.
I see a very, very occasional snowy egret.

WALK3088 07-19-16 @ 09-31-34 Ebenezergreat egret snowy egret