Artist BRIGITTE BOWYER CAREY of Tilloo Cay naturally has a keen eye for a photograph. I was very taken with her images of egrets posted on her Facebook page, and she has kindly said I can encourage a migration to Rolling Harbour. So here they are. The first photo is my favourite, the very epitome of elegance and grace.
To the amateur (me) there is plenty of scope for confusion between the great egret and the great blue heron (white phase) – unless you can see the bird’s legs. The great egret’s are dark; the GBH’s are yellow. There are probably plenty of other distinctions that are completely obvious to a practised birder, but I think the legs are the easiest answer for the untutored enthusiast.
And where, I hear no one ask, are RH’s own stunning egret photos? A quick check reveals that the one taken from a skiff last year perched on a black mangrove out on the Marls is really a distant white speck, as is his cousin pootling around way out on a far shoreline; and the one up a tree at Sandy Point – a small white blur of what could easily be fur. I’ll get another chance next month…
NEW DEC. 2012 A fine egret photo from H J Ruiz from his birding site AVIAN 101 
As it happens, a fine CORNELL LAB video of great blue herons returning to their nest has appeared in my inbox, and the fact that I have mentioned them above is a good excuse to include this short nest-cam movie
ROLLING HARBOUR ABACO 
Thanks for featuring these, Keith, they are looking so good here. The first one is my favourite too.
I think this bird must come here every year, because it allows me to come quite close.
Loved your bee pictures, did you take them? You must have a really good camera for such wonderful close-ups.
BTW – my artist name is Brigitte Bowyer Carey. My painting page on Face Book is called Island Watercolors-Brigitte Bowyer Carey…could you change the name and possibly give me a small PR boost? But if you can’t, please don’t worry about it – I am a huge nature fan, eventually you’ll find something else you want your readers to see — you can do it then.
LikeLike
Hi Brigitte, thanks back at you! Have made a change to the name and the link (and the FB page links to your website, I notice), no problem. And yes, the bees are mine – there are a lot more close up bees on that little ‘non-Abaco’ wildlife etc site http://rollingharboulife.wordpress.com. That camera is a fairly basic / cheap pocket Panasonic Lumix, but it has a good macro, an 8x optical zoom and a Zeiss lens. I only use point ‘n’ shoot (with a few personal settings), as by the time I’ve worked out what’s needed for a shot and how to work through the menu(s) to get their, the bird / animal / light effect is long gone…
LikeLike