Return of the Magical Marsh Dancer

Arthur P. Johnson, , ,

After a long recess in the reeds, our Snowy Egret friends are back…

And Stanley here is dancing atop the water with elegant zest.

Stanley’s gorgeous golden feet serve a fascinating purpose—the most dazzling hunting and fishing tool I have ever observed in a wading bird.

When Stanley walks and scampers, his toes stir up insects and small crustaceans, which he then harvests, spear-fishing with his beak.

But the magic act I love most occurs when he flies low and drags his golden toes just a tad below the mirror-like marsh waters.

In my photographs, he almost could be an Olympic figure skater. But secretly, his gold toes are flushing out frogs, fish and tiny crustaceans galore. For some prey, they’re a tempting lure — frightening others out of hiding. They surface, he feasts!

He repeats until full, then flies off to rest and digest in some safe hiding place.

Many times, I’ve observed a Snowy flying back and forth, flushing his prey on one sweep, then returning to gobble them up. It’s hypnotic and beautiful, watching his wedding-dress wings spread, as those golden slippers waltz on the marsh.

Every time I observe it, I marvel at Stanley the magical marsh-dancing Egret.

Buy prints of photo #1, featured above

Buy prints of photo #2 below

Buy prints of photo #3 below

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Magical Marsh Dancer, #2 of 5
#2 in a collection of 5 photographs. See the green hue of his knees? This means Stanley is likely the avian equivalent of a sixteen-year-old. Juvenile Snowy Egrets have green legs, helping them blend into the reeds where they nested. Stanley has almost shed his greenies, putting him on the cusp of adulthood.
Magical Marsh Dancer, #3 of 5
#3 in a collection of 5 photographs. Flitting back and forth, Stanley drags his golden toes atop the mirror-like marsh surface. This tempts or frightens frogs, fish and small crustaceans, who flee into spearing range.
Magical Marsh Dancer, #4 of 5
#4 in a Collection of 5 photographs. The Snowy’s wedding-dress wing feathers aren’t merely ornamental. They let him skim, dart and turn on a dime, with finesse that puts human fly fishers to shame.
Magical Marsh Dancer, #5 of 5
#5 in a collection of 5 photographs. In between drags, our little flying fisherman scans the salt marsh for flushed-out prey, spear-fishes his delicacies, then resumes marsh-dancing till his tummy’s full.

 

 

Published by Arthur P. Johnson

Arthur P. Johnson is an award-winning creative professional with 30+ years of experience in advertising, product development, screen writing, and television and web production. He has loved photography all his adult life and now he's doing it all the time. It's exciting, exhausting and scary, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

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