Friday, December 4, 2009

Little egret, Egretta alba.

I went out today to get shots of the Common tern they will not be here for long before they continue on their migration. But I got hooked watching this Little egret and the way it coaxed its prey to come within range to catch. I have never seen them catch big fish like all the other herons. even though the name is Little egret its from the Heron family,



They vibrate one of there legs in the water the yellow claws must be an attraction to the minnows, as they get close the Egret snatches them out of the water. the squacco stands perfectly still either on the bank or on flotsam and takes a fish as it gets near enough. the other herons stand perfectly still in the water and wait for the fish to nibble at their legs.
the cattle egrets only come to the Nile to drink it seems they only eat grubs,

In this photo (enlarge) you can see the ripples from the vibrating leg.
They walk about very slowly in the water and pick at whatever they need if there is nothing they do the leg bit.




And before you ask if I have nothing better to do than watch birds using vibrators, the answer is no, and I enjoy watching them. next time I need a fish I know what to get and how to do it.
What you call live and learn.


Posted by Picasa


The common tern photos I managed to get after this exciting episode are on. and the date under the photo. just in case you think I spent all my time watching the egret,

http://birdinginegypt.blogspot.com/2009/12/tern.html

Posted by Picasa


The Herons roosting in the trees on Banana Island
made up mainly of the Cattle Egret.



I thought I was A Heron not an Ibis.


Ah thats better

Bloody nosy bugger wish he'd go away with that camera.


















Posted by Picasa

No comments:

Photo log of birds to date

71 birds to date 13/5/10

Latest bird

Blue-cheeked bee-eater, merops superciliosus.

Avadavat (amandava amandava),
Barbary falcon (falco pelegrinoides) ,
Black Headed Gull (Larus ridibundus)27/2/10
Black-winged kite(elanus caeruleus),

Blue-cheeked bee-eater, merops superciliosus. 22/4/10


Bluethroat. Luscinia svecica
Caspian plover Charadrius asiaticus..4.4.10
Cattle egret (bubulcus ibis),
Collared Dove,Streptopelia decaocto 10/1/2010
Clamorous reed warbler , Acrocephalus stentoureus 23/3/10
Collared pratincole, Glareola pratincola 4/4/10
Crag Martin (ptyonoprogne rupestris),
Grey flycatcher Muscicapa striata
crested lark ( galerida cristata),
Common Snipe ,Gallinago gallinago ,23/9/10
Common Tern, (Sterna hirundo) 28/11/09
Common
sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos 28/11/09
Common bulbul, Pycnonotus barbatus.
Great Cormorant, phalacrocorax carbo.
Cyprus warbler, sylvia melanothotax 8/12/09
fan-tailed cisticola. cisticola juncidis
Ailsbury ducks
Kestrel falco naumanni

Graceful Prinia, Prinia gracilis 19/1/10
Great white egret (Egreta alba) 28/11/09 named" 12/09
Grey Heron (ardea cinerea),
Greylag goose (Anser anser),
Glossy ibis, Plegadis falcinellus4/12/09
Gull-billed tern Sterna nilotica
Hoopoe (upupa epops),
Hooded crow(corvus corvone cornix),
House sparrow (passer domesticus),

Honey Buzzard pernis apivorus,22/4/10
Hume's Tawny Owl. Strix butlery 15/8/2010

Laughing dove , streptopelia senegalensis
Lesser spotted Eagle,Aquila pomarina 19/1/10
Lesser whitethroat,sylvia curruca 18/3/10
Little bittern (Ixorychus minutes), i(1) female Aswan
Little stint, Calidris minuta
Little white egret (Egretta garzetta),
Little green bee-eater (merops orientalis),
marsh sandpiper,Triga stagnatilis,4.4.10
Moorhen (gallinule chlorous),
Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax),
Nile valley sun bird(Anthreptes metallicus
Olivaceous warbler (hippolais pillada),
Olive-tree warbler (hippolais olivetorum),
Pied kingfisher (ceryle rudis), all year
Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea) 28/11/09
Purple gallinule (porphyrio porphyrio),
Red rumped swallow (hirundo daurica),
Sandpiper (Actitis hytoleucos) 28/11/09

Sedge warbler, Acrocephalus schoenobaeus.

Senegal Thick-knee ,Burhinus senegalensis.


ssouthern grey shrike,lanius meridionalis,9/ 2010
Scrub warbler Scotocerca inquita), June
Spur-winged plover (hoplopterus spinosus),
.Streaked Fantail Warbler (Cisticola juncidis)
Squacco Heron(Ardeola ralloides) , may all year
Striated heron (butorides striatus), May
Stork, Ciconia ciconia), August
Temminck's Stint, Calidris temminckii. 4/4/10
Thrush Nightingale,Luscinia luscinia 13/5/10
Turtle dove(stretopelia turtur),
White wagtail ( motacilla alba),
Wood sandpiper (Tringa glareola) 2/12/09
Willow warbler Phylloscopus trochilus...
yellow-billed kite Milvus aegyptius
Yellow wagtail(motacilla flava), sept/
yellow wagtail ( black headed) 1/may 10
Water pipit, Anthus spinoletta.
Whitethroat, Sylvia communis
Wryneck, Jynx torquilla 8/4/10


Click on the photos to enlarge
http://skywatchegypt.blogspot.com/
http://egyptplants.blogspot.com/
http://birdinginegypt.blogspot.com/ myegypt bird blog
http://egyptwildlife.blogspot.com/ birds of Egypt
http://egyptswildlife2.blogspot.com/
birds of Egypt
http://www.nilelife.blogspot.com/ photos from around Luxor Egypt
http://www.nilelife2.blogspot.com/ photos from around Luxor Egypt
http://egyptdragonflies.blogspot.com/ Dragons and damsels
http://insectsonwings.blogspot.com/ butterflies and bugs
http://myegypttours.blogspot.com Tombs and temples of Egypt
http://mydeserttrip.blogspot.com/ new in the process of building lots of photos of the white desert already on. 30/11/09
http://reflectionsofegypt.blogspot.com/ A trip down the Nile
http://tonythevolunteer.blogspot.com/
www.myegypt.co.uk my website

free counters

Followers

Blog Archive

About Me

My photo
MY BLOG LINKS CAN BE FOUND ON THE SIDE BAR. BIRDS, PLANTS,BUTTERFLIES,DRAGONS AND DAMSELFLIES.+ MY LIFE OUT AND ABOUT LUXOR. MY MAIN CONCERN NOW IS THE POLLUTION OF THE NILE AND THE EFFECT IT IS HAVING ON ITS PEOPLE AND WILDLIFE. POLLUTION OF THE NILE IS ON WWW.MYEGYPT.CO.UK http://egyptwildlife.blogspot.com/ http://egyptswildlife2.blogspot.com http://nilelife.blogspot.com/ http://nilelife2.blogspot.com/ MY WEBSITE WWW.MYEGYPT.CO.UK