Wildlife Wednesday: A Breakfast Bonus

Every now and then, when time and location permit, my wife and I have Sunday morning breakfast at a local restaurant called Hank’s Place. (Website) It’s located in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania and they have excellent food. The establishment sits just beside the Brandywine River which floods during high rainy spells and sometimes wreaks havoc in the area. A slight bonus that comes with the flooding are marshlands that collect fish and other food for predatory birds. Last evening I had a few service calls in the area which finished up while it was still light so I thought a little exploring was in order. I walked along the shoulder of Route 1 southbound beside the guardrail, glancing through the bushes and trees. Noticing the habita, I hoped would welcome hawks and woodpeckers. Many of the trees were dead and had holes at the top and had excellent perches for aviary wildlife. The other possible benefit was that the road noise would obscure my presence and I would be less spookable for whatever I found. Looking back over my shoulder, my eye caught a bright white object amid the sea of green and I was prepared. The egret noticed me immediately and only gave me a few brief seconds to fire off four frames before he relocated deep in the marsh. My favorite is here...

Nikon D800 Sigma 50-500mm f/4.5-6.3 @ 500mm f/8 with CP Filter, ISO 400 1/125sec