The Snowy Egret is Good at Hunting

A follow-up to the last email....

When the Egret catches something, the first thing it does as it pulls its long bill out of the water is shake out the excess liquid in its bill.

The Snowy Egret moves slowly across the pond in constant search for anything in the water that is edible. The Egret’s diet is mostly aquatic animals.

Once it captures something, it shakes out the water and then tosses the item in the air to position it for easy swallowing.

The Snowy Egret moved deliberately in the water. At times it would pick its feet out of the water as it walked, giving us a glimpse of its yellow feet. I was fascinated to watch one technique it used to find food. Standing in one place, it would shake its feet, stirring the mucky bottom in an effort to force hidden prey out of hiding. It is thought that the bright yellow feet may also attract curious fish, drawing prey in.

When the Egret saw prey, it made a very quick stab into the water to grab it.

The Snowy Egret captured a dragonfly larva this time.

Birdnote has a post about these special birds titled Snowy Egrets- Killer Hats