Three species, one photo

Poppy and Hamish

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I have never seen a cattle egret before, and saw one today. I was very pleased to be able to get a picture of him/her following a successful hunt! This was at Ferry Meadows, I had stayed overnight at the campsite there while visiting family. Sadly the weather was very dull, so not the best of shots, due to the poo lighting and blown my whites
 

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Is that one of its chicks it's holding or some unfortunate morsel for dinner?

Ah, just realised you said 3 species so not its own chick.
Well deduced, although if you zoom in you should be able to see it more clearly and it's a vole

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Great photo.
Egret’s holding up the vole to the cow as a gift to say “thanks for not plopping near my nest“.🙃
 
Brilliant photo! You should send it to Countryfile for next year’s Calendar (although they’d probably put a ‘trigger warning’ on it)! :rofl:

When we lived in Liberia they were known as Cow Birds - I didn’t know they were called Cattle Egrets here!
 
Brilliant photo! You should send it to Countryfile for next year’s Calendar (although they’d probably put a ‘trigger warning’ on it)! :rofl:

When we lived in Liberia they were known as Cow Birds - I didn’t know they were called Cattle Egrets here!

I don't think they are called Cattle Egrets in Britain just Large & Small Egrets. Cattle Egrets are usually found in places like Africa and ride on the beasts back. Never seen that in the UK but I stand to be corrected. :unsure:
 
I don't think they are called Cattle Egrets in Britain just Large & Small Egrets. Cattle Egrets are usually found in places like Africa and ride on the beasts back. Never seen that in the UK but I stand to be corrected. :unsure:
We’ve got photos of cow birds riding on cow’s backs outside our window in Bomi Hills!
 
I don't think they are called Cattle Egrets in Britain just Large & Small Egrets. Cattle Egrets are usually found in places like Africa and ride on the beasts back. Never seen that in the UK but I stand to be corrected. :unsure:

It’s a cattle egret in winter plumage. You do get them in the UK, I am in several wildlife photography groups and many others have seen them too. It’s a rarer bird so usually makes the bird sightings lists when they appear, and it’s known amongst the photographers and twitchers that there is one in that field. The little egret has a black beak. The great white egret is much larger. In a different photo I took you can see the fading colours from it’s summer plumage. I will look for it.
 
Brilliant photo! You should send it to Countryfile for next year’s Calendar (although they’d probably put a ‘trigger warning’ on it)! :rofl:

When we lived in Liberia they were known as Cow Birds - I didn’t know they were called Cattle Egrets here!
Thank you. Haha, yes, I did wonder if wider audiences might be upset for the poor vole. I am in a bird group on Facebook that is a mix of people who like birds, and photographers. Some of the group members get quite upset with some of the raptor pictures with their prey, but they are often fantastic photographs

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Here we go, it is much easier to tell it is a cattle egret in this one. Still some colouration on its head where summer plumage hasn’t completely gone. Yellow beak, not black beak. Stumpy neck, not long elegant neck as in GWE.
 
Couple of quick questions Poppy and Hamish
Are your pics straight out of the camera - or do you post process at all?
Do you shoot in RAW or JPeg format

Just trying to understand how to be a better "snapper"
 
I don't think they are called Cattle Egrets in Britain just Large & Small Egrets. Cattle Egrets are usually found in places like Africa and ride on the beasts back. Never seen that in the UK but I stand to be corrected. :unsure:
There is a breeding rookery of them near the Great Ouse on the fens😊Also little Egrets👍😊
 
Couple of quick questions Poppy and Hamish
Are your pics straight out of the camera - or do you post process at all?
Do you shoot in RAW or JPeg format

Just trying to understand how to be a better "snapper"
I shoot in JPEG. I don't do a lot of post processing, but perhaps some cropping and minor adjustments to exposure/shadows etc if the picture is a little dark for example (in Lightroom, not Photoshop)
 
There is a breeding rookery of them near the Great Ouse on the fens😊Also little Egrets👍😊

Whereabouts on the Gt Ouse, my Father had a farm abutting the Little Ouse many years ago.

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Whereabouts on the Gt Ouse, my Father had a farm abutting the Little Ouse many years ago.
Down near Earith Im sorry I can’t recall the Fen though but you could walk fairly close and observe from other side of a lake😊
 

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