The White Egret

The white Egret is a beautiful wading bird with long black legs, long neck, and a yellow long bill.  It hunts in shallow fresh and salt water.  It walks quietly and gingerly, stops and listens.  It is in no hurry:  it rather waits for the prey to come to him and the small fish or frog is quickly snapped up.

The white Egret is no stranger to the Back Forty Garden.  It has visited many times and picked among leaves and grass looking for insects and whatever moves.  We stand at a respectful distance to let him have free rein in the garden area.

This morning, when my husband went to feed the gold fish, he called for me to join him and bring the camera.   When I neared the pond, I immediately spotted the egret.

The egret walked around the pond that we have covered with netting over bent PVC pipes.  The egret stopped here and there and picked at the netting.  There got to be a hole somewhere, I am sure he thought.  He went round and round the pond and I thought that he must have gotten dizzy.

The egret did not pay us any attention:  he was on a mission to catch his breakfast.

The gold fish was hidden under two discs.  At one time, one of the braver gold fishes showed his sparkly orange self.  He wouldn't tease the egret, would he?

The egret decided to walk up one side of one bent PVC pipe and down the other.  He walked in perfect balance.  He walked on several pipes but the goldfish were still safe.

The egret walked on the PVC pipe base around the pond with miserable result. As a last resort, he walked on the netting ever so gingerly.  It wouldn't budge and he had no way of reaching the fish.

The egret was tenacious but eventually he had to give up.  Perhaps there is something edible in the scenic ditch.

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