Cattle Egrets
 

Looking back tour trip to Florida in 2012 I was surprised that I only came away with 3 images of Cattle Egrets. Whilst I had two trips to Gatorland Rookery on this trip rather than one, I took considerably more photos of these birds. Much smaller than a Great Egret, and squatter and stockier than a Snow Egret, the Cattle Egret is quite a handsome bird, with characteristic orange plume and chest and bright pink legs.
 

Cattle EgretGatorland Bird Rookery, Orlando, Florida, USA Cattle EgretGatorland Bird Rookery, Orlando, Florida, USA
 

Cattle EgretGatorland Bird Rookery, Orlando, Florida, USA
 

Cattle EgretGatorland Bird Rookery, Orlando, Florida, USA
 

The light on both visits to the rookery was quite variable, making flight shots quite tricky. I was however, lucky enough to capture these two images of a Cattle Egret in flight.
 

Cattle EgretGatorland Bird Rookery, Orlando, Florida, USA
 

Cattle EgretGatorland Bird Rookery, Orlando, Florida, USA
 

One bird in a particular caught my attention, as it collected sticks and other vegetation to build its nest.
 

Cattle Egret with nesting materialGatorland Bird Rookery, Orlando, Florida, USA
 

Cattle Egret with nesting materialGatorland Bird Rookery, Orlando, Florida, USA
 

Cattle Egret with nesting materialGatorland Bird Rookery, Orlando, Florida, USA
 

Cattle EgretGatorland Bird Rookery, Orlando, Florida, USA
 

Cattle EgretGatorland Bird Rookery, Orlando, Florida, USA
 

They look very proud birds as they stand on top of the bushes, surveying all around.
 

Cattle EgretGatorland Bird Rookery, Orlando, Florida, USA
 

Cattle EgretGatorland Bird Rookery, Orlando, Florida, USA  
 

For more Cattle Egret images from this visit please go to the relevant gallery here.