Who goes every were with me. This is the story of an inter species friendship that goes back over 20 years. Earl is the elder male great egret at the Marine Nature Study Area in Oceanside, NY. Mike is the park's manager and early follows mike everywhere. Earl likes to entertain and will land near a tour group when Mike is leading it and this always gets a great reaction. I've come across Earl alone in the preserve and I asked him, "Where is Mike?" Earl's head snapes to point to Mike. This spring Earl arrived back at the preserve later than usual and we wondered if we had seen the last of him. In this set of photos Earl is escorting mike as he drives his golf cart across one of the bridges.
Comments and suggestions welcome,
Morris
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X-H2SXF500mmF5.6 R LM OIS WR lens500mmf/5.61/3500s1600 ISO-0.3 EV
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X-H2SXF500mmF5.6 R LM OIS WR lens500mmf/5.61/3500s1600 ISO-0.3 EV
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X-H2SXF500mmF5.6 R LM OIS WR lens500mmf/5.61/5000s1600 ISO-0.7 EV
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X-H2SXF500mmF5.6 R LM OIS WR lens500mmf/5.61/5000s1600 ISO-0.7 EV
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X-H2SXF500mmF5.6 R LM OIS WR lens500mmf/5.61/5000s1600 ISO-0.7 EV
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X-H2SXF500mmF5.6 R LM OIS WR lens500mmf/5.61/4700s1600 ISO-0.7 EV
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X-H2SXF500mmF5.6 R LM OIS WR lens500mmf/5.61/4700s1600 ISO-0.7 EV
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X-H2SXF500mmF5.6 R LM OIS WR lens500mmf/5.61/5000s1600 ISO-0.3 EV
Neat story and cool pic's Morris. They are smart creatures of habit and do form bonds or at least trusting relationships.
I might as well pile on here and tell you...we have a great egret my wife named Snowflake... it visits my large ancient Oak (it is one that leans heavily at an angle towards the street) daily to perch on its comfy horizontal section of trunk because my neighbor feeds him (unintentionally?) via his pet feeder, I think, .
We don't take his picture because it just feels wrong, he's our friend and that's our arrangement, he watches me wash our cars, or when I'm pruning around the yard, taking out the trash, getting the mail, etc. and I talk to him as I work. It almost feels like if I get out my camera it'll jynx it or piss him off and he won't come back. I know, crazy, but we all have our thing, heh. I'd have to guess I've been hanging out with Snowflake for at least 12 years. He stalks my hedges occasionally and I'll see him pull out a lizard for a snack. Saw him once with a small snake too. I wish I could get him to hunt that mouse family that snuck into my garage last week...
birdied wrote:
Great set! What an experience to have an egret friend.
Birdie
Thank you Roberta,
Yes it's very special
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kdacharya wrote:
nice BG story and the last one is my pick
Thank you KD
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Jeffrey wrote:
Great story. Nice imaging, Morris.
Thank you Jeffrey
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Erictator wrote:
Neat story and cool pic's Morris. They are smart creatures of habit and do form bonds or at least trusting relationships.
I might as well pile on here and tell you...we have a great egret my wife named Snowflake... it visits my large ancient Oak (it is one that leans heavily at an angle towards the street) daily to perch on its comfy horizontal section of trunk because my neighbor feeds him (unintentionally?) via his pet feeder, I think, .
We don't take his picture because it just feels wrong, he's our friend and that's our arrangement, he watches me wash our cars, or when I'm pruning around the yard, taking out the trash, getting the mail, etc. and I talk to him as I work. It almost feels like if I get out my camera it'll jynx it or piss him off and he won't come back. I know, crazy, but we all have our thing, heh. I'd have to guess I've been hanging out with Snowflake for at least 12 years. He stalks my hedges occasionally and I'll see him pull out a lizard for a snack. Saw him once with a small snake too. I wish I could get him to hunt that mouse family that snuck into my garage last week...
Thank you Eric,
Do you ever take photos of your human friends and do they run away? If you took it slow approaching snowflake the first few times with a camera, I'm confident it would not be an issue.
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mjgphotoz wrote:
Morris, YGMV! What a special experience and joy to share!
Mary
Thank you Mary
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keepclicking wrote:
Morris, great shots but last one is just special
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