It happened as we were walking last Sunday from Whites Ferry towards Edwards Ferry. In the distance, we spotted something distinctly white moving over the water of the canal. On the trail, in the vicinity of this white figure, was a couple walking their tiny dogs. They had obviously scared this creature from the bed of the canal.
The white creature was an egret. It flew straight up onto the branch of a tree on the other side of the canal and settled there. It stayed there as we approached. I was able to take pictures as we walked by.
The egret was still there on our way back to Whites Ferry. This time, the egret was in the canal bed. Every time we approached it, it would get up and fly off further down the canal. I have great difficulty taking pictures of flying birds that are closer to me, especially with a zoom lens on the camera. These might have come out OK.
The bird finally settled down for a long enough time for me to get its picture. It was a majestic pose that it struck.
It was only later, when I looked at the pictures I had taken more carefully, that I noticed the green patch around the eyes. I looked it up on the Internet. This kind of egret is called a Great Egret (or Great White Egret).
This was just one encounter from another fine morning on the canal.
I had posted one of the pictures I had taken a few weeks earlier in a family social media group that I am a part of. It was a picture of the wren singing on a dead tree trunk. An aunt of mine, who is a college English teacher, responded, putting forth the following quote from William Wordsworth.
Nature never did betray the heart that loved her.
I do not know the context of the quote, but I do find it a worthy sentiment. If such supernatural capability can be attributed to Nature, I would consider myself blessed many times over.
Splattered Brains 