Great and Snowy Egrets
Great Egrets are the larger of the egrets which are commonly seen here in Florida. The Snowy Egrets are medium-sized and have yellow feet. Egrets are easily seen here in Florida around marshes, rivers, ponds and lakes. Another kind of egrets, the Cattle Egrets are the type seen in pastures near horses, cattle, sheep and goats and those have a color of rust on their neck during the breeding season.
I spotted these Great Egrets and Snowy Egrets at local lakes in the last few weeks. They fish by wading in the shallows and try to stab prey such as small fish, tadpoles, frogs, small turtles, and crayfish. They also will eat snails, worms, larger insects, waterfowl eggs, and occasionally lizards, and mice.
I additionally took a couple of rather blurry shots of a wading bird roosting area last night at about 7:00PM. There were literally hundreds of various egrets as well as ibis, herons and Anhingas all in a bunch of low trees in a nature preserve area (with Alligators in the marshy water below the trees). Please click on the thumbnail image to see the slightly larger picture. Enjoy!