Birds Flying High and Low ~ Great Egrets!
Recently I bought a new saxophone after not playing for years. I’ve also been tickling the ivories on my relatively new digital piano after not playing for years. I’m not very good on either but I really enjoy playing and trying to improve. One song that I’ve been working on is Feeling Good by Michael Buble. The opening lyrics go like this, “Birds flying high, You know how I feel, Sun in the sky, You know how I feel, Breeze driftin’ on by, You know how I feel. The second verse is, “It’s a new dawn, It’s a new day, It’s a new life, For me, And I’m feeling good, I’m feeling good.”
So I have the song on my mind/in my head so to speak. When I’m out birding and I see birds flying high or driftin’ on by it makes me feel good! It also reminds me of the song.
I love catching egrets in different light and with unusual or dramatic wing positions. In harsh light the all white birds can easily get washed out and you lose definition in the feather patterns. In dramatic light feather patterns and shapes can really get accentuated.
One aspect of birding that I love is that you never know what you might see. As many photographs as I’ve taken of Great Egrets, occasionally I still get somewhat unusual ones. That’s what makes birding a sport to me. Just like in a round of golf, it’s that one good shot that keeps you coming back. :)
The birding activity has picked up as of late. Birds are starting to build their nests and are feeding along shorelines. I’ve been out three or four times in the last few weeks just in our neighborhood and I thought I’d share some Great Egret shots with you keeping in mind those catchy words, birds flying high!
Next, I might have to put together some recent Great Blue Heron pics in a follow-up blog post. They are also very active now and can be spotted around most ponds. They are more solitary so where you might see 8 or 10 egrets around a pond usually there is only one or maybe two Great Blue Herons.
My next painting will most likely be either a Great Blue Heron or Brown Pelican painting. I see both birds flying high and flying on by all the time! :)
Thank you for reading my blog and for your interest in my art! Please check back soon to see which bird is on my easel.
“One of the joys of being an artist is having the freedom to follow my passion….”
What’s next?
Drawing by William R. Beebe