Wednesday, April 30, 2014

A Stampede of White Cattle Egrets for Wild Bird Wednesday



While traveling from the prairie to my cottage on the edge of a forest, I saw "white peg-shaped" objects lined up on the bank of a farm pond. They were so far away, I could not make out what they were.

There seemed to be no movement at all.
Suddenly.....

Click on Photo
 
they took to the sky. With one fluid motion, moved to the right, circled around, and....
 
 
landed higher on the hill.
 
From a Google search, I learned that a group of egrets are collectively known as a "Stampede of Egrets".
 
 
The White Cattle Egrets are the only egrets with both a yellow bill and yellow feet.
Click HERE to read some interesting facts about them.
 
Although my photos are not of the clear quality I like to post, I thought the story was still worth a link with
 
Meggie Mac
 

11 comments:

  1. Hi Meggie Great to have come across so many of them and then captured them on the ground and in flight. Great info on them. Thanks.

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    1. I guess since Texas is cattle country, there are quite a few of them here. I've seen them in the pastures with the cows, but never sitting on a pond bank before.

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  2. Wow! It's a real treat when you happen upon something in the wild like that. Some lovely photos in your previous post, by the way!

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    1. Well...after all, this is Texas....laughing ! I, often must dodge a deer, as it is crossing the road.

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  3. I love these gorgeous birds, and have never seen so many at one time lucky you. We see a lot of them with the black bulls near the Mediterranean coast in the Camargue, they are quite lovely together, the black and the white. The link was interesting.

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    1. They are fun to watch when they are paired with the cattle. I once saw one with a horse.

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  4. I always wonder how the birds know when to take flight all at the same time! It's fun to see.

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  5. And did you know, Cattle Egrets are cool? Would love to see these birds more around Tucson! You are so lucky to have them near!

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  6. Fuzzy or not--they look pretty good to me. A Stampede eh? Pretty neat. MB

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  7. Great looking birds - you can see them picking up their breeding colours I think.

    Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

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  8. How I would love to happen upon a sight like this....I would be so excited all my photos would be blurry from me shaking with excitement.

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