Today’s weekend waterbird is a great egret. It is not a mediocre egret, and it is also not a duck.

#WeekendWaterbird #NotADuck #GreatEgret #CommonEgret #GreatWhiteEgret #ArdeaAlba #BirdsSeenIn2025 #Birding #Birds #WWTWelney

Beyond the Reach of The Lens

Even with 900 millimetres of reach, sometimes the bird stands exactly where you can't photograph it properly. That's the honest truth of wildlife photography.

https://islandinthenet.com/great-blue-heron-carnegie-lake-dam/

The #WeekendWaterbird is not a mediocre egret: it is a Great Egret.

#GreatEgret #GreatWhiteEgret #Egret #ArdeaAlba #BirdsSeenIn2025 #Birding #Birds

The #WednesdayWaterbird is #NotADuck: it is a great white egret… not quite as scary as a great white shark, but does look like it uses Daz - which is quite scary.

#GreatWhiteEgret #GreatEgret #CommonEgret #GreatWhiteHeron #ArdeaAlba #BirdsSeenIn2025 #Birding #Birds

Great Egret at Carnegie Lake

A Great Egret stands in morning mist at Carnegie Lake Dam.

https://islandinthenet.com/great-egret/

An Eastern Finncattle bull and a great egret in Laajalahti, Espoo.

According to the weather forecast, the sun was supposed to come out to play yesterday. With that in mind, I decided to go for my longest photo walk yet – around 20 kilometers (~12.5 miles). The sun did not come out though and most of the photos I got are kinda dull. Plants and leaves are starting to wither slowly, but nothing is in vivid colors yet. I did encounter a woolly burdock that had somehow produced a flower despite being almost dead.

Then things got more interesting. I walked to Laajalahti in Espoo to see its nature reserve and wetland. My expectations were not high due to the weather, but to my surprise a great egret showed up in the distance. It’s not a common bird here. I photographed it for a while, and then I heard alarm calls behind me – a Eurasian sparrowhawk had landed on a branch. This was actually the first time I was able to take recognizable photos of it. I have often seen sparrowhawks in the spring and fall when they are migrating, but until yesterday they have always eluded my camera somehow. I hope it does not take years to get a better photo...

Seurasaari was next on my itinerary. But by the time I got there, it had started getting dark. I decided to visit my favorite photo locations on the island anyway and, predictably, took a few photos of subjects I have already photographed plenty of times earlier in better light. However, there was one more surprise in store for me. I spotted someone lying on the ground at the water’s edge photographing something… (Hi 👋 if you are reading this) What was there? Another great egret and it was very close! I even got a few okayish photos of it in the fading light. Definitely a high point of the day!

My feet are a bit sore right now, but the walk was worth it!

#greategret
#ardeaalba
#sparrowhawk
#accipiternisus
#woollyburdock
#arctiumtomentosum
#espoo
#laajalahti
#helsinki
#seurasaari
#september
#fall
#autumn

Grande aigrette un peu punk, février 2025.
#Photography #bird #Birds #BirdPhotography #Nature #ArdeaAlba #GreatEgret

Grande aigrette un peu punk, février 2025.
#Photography #bird #Birds #BirdPhotography #Nature #ArdeaAlba #GreatEgret

🇳🇱 Goedenacht, slaap zacht. #GroteZilverreiger eergisteren #ErgensInEenWeiland
🇩🇪 Gute Nacht und schöne Träume. #Silberreiher vorgestern
🇬🇧 Good night, sleep tight. #GreatEgret
🇨🇿 Dobrou noc a hezké sny. #VolavkaBilá
#ArdeaAlba