Feeding Behaviour of Little Egret

[skfoo]

This is a rather common bird in Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve (SBWR). It is easy to tell a Little Egret from other egrets by its yellow feet (some locals referred to them as Phua Chu Kang boots).

Sometimes when I am waiting for “star” birds to appear, a Little Egret may just appear nearby foraging for food, keeping me occupied.

I noted that in shallow water, a Little Egret would use one of its legs to dab the area in front of it while keeping its body close to the water (image as attached). When the prey appeared from its hiding place, the egret would strike at it with great accuracy.




(Both images shot with Nikon D3, AFS500mm/f4DII + TC-17EII, ISO1000, F/8 @1/5000s, EV-1.3)

Yesterday I went SBWR to look for Johnson Duck, sorry I meant Northern Shoveler (a rare bird!). In the later part of the evening, I joined some friends at the Main Bridge. As the tide went lower, drama started to unfold underneath the bridge. Most interestingly, a pair of Malayan Water Monitor Lizards was seen doing “tango” or “wrestling”, a White-breasted Water-hen with its cute black fur chick and Little Egrets having a feeding frenzy!

This round, perhaps the fishes are bigger, the egrets would fly from the edges of the river towards the fishes, swooshed down to catch them with their bills, swallowing them as they flew back to the edges of the river. Naturally, one fish at a time and with great success rate too. The lighting was low and tricky, most shots were discarded but I am sure those who were present have had a great time triggering their cameras until the finger ached. If weather permits, I may try again later this evening.

Wishing all a Happy New Year!


(Shot with Nikon D3, AFS500mm/f4DII + TC-17EII, ISO2000, F/11 @1/1250s, EV-1.7)

[Reno]

Interesting writeup and Great action too....!! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year..!!

[tanhb]

As usual, nice images from you. Like the writeup too.

[skfoo]

Thanks for the comments guys.

[zh3ng]

Pls pardon me if this qn is noob on my basics of photography. but, i see your settings, iso2000 with ev-1.7. why lower exposure compensation but up iso to so high to compensate back?

[skfoo]

Originally Posted by zh3ng Pls pardon me if this qn is noob on my basics of photography. but, i see your settings, iso2000 with ev-1.7. why lower exposure compensation but up iso to so high to compensate back?

Good question. The high iso was keep the shutter speed high enough to freeze the action while -1.7EV on the camera is to keep the white colour feathers from being "too' over exposed. Dialing too much -EV will caused the image to appear underexposed, so a right mix is important. (-1.7EV will also raise the shutter speed higher as compared to 0EV, but that was not my purpose of using -1.7EV). Try photographing a white cloth outdoor and you know what I mean. The eaiest way to tell which area is over exposed is by referring to the blinking highlight on the LCD screen behind the camera. I used it all the time.

[zh3ng]

Thanks bro. I understand what you mean.