Egret day to be Birding

Flushed from my wife's winning the bi-weekly contest of the Philippine Bird Photography Club, we set-out to try once again to capture an image worthy of another victorious achievement. This time the subject species are Herons and Egrets.

Bolsa Chica, of course, is teeming with these elegant waders. We arrived early to avoid the rush and congestion from beachcombers and nature enthusiasts. Saturday morning was uncharacteristically overcast. Which turned out to be quite an advantage since we would be shooting big white birds - which in bright sunlight would show blown highlights in a photograph.

An incident that is becoming quite a pattern (seems to me) happened near the tide gates. A woman with a dog on a leash entered the trail despite my showing her the sign that canines, even on a leash, are not allowed in there. She even questioned my "authority" to give her that reminder. Oh well, I guess it's none of my business after all.

We spent about three hours taking pictures of the various aspects of an egret's life - flying, fishing, preening, squabbling. Hopefully, one of them would be good enough to win another prize.

We left a little before noon having other domestic obligations to fulfill.