It’s Cattle Egrett mating season here in West Africa, and even in the city, the thorny acacias are buzzing with activity.
I figured such a colony would be easy to approach,
…and sure enough, I got some nice captures.
With so many birds and so much activity,
…there was a lot of landings,
…and a lot of hopping about.
Dressed in mating plumage, there was more fighting than mating going on.
This guy made a beautiful dance for what seemed to be his partner-to-be, but once he turned his back, another suitor took his place.
Truth be told, I’m not exactly sure WHAT they were doing, but they were beautiful subjects to photograph nevertheless!
And in not too long, these nests will be filled with little cattle egret chicks. I hope our beautiful photo subjects will be equally cooperative then!
23 users commented in " Welcome to the Cattle Egret Mating Season "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackGreat shots and great sequence. Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.
I imagine there is quite a bit of noise surrounding that tree!
Fascinating shots. I’m sure if I looked up in that tree I would be wondering what is going on up there! Quite busy.
Fantastic shots of a bird that is a rarity here in the UK. Great to see.
great shots!
Very cool sighting to see the Cattle Egrets and their nest. And wow, there are a lot of there too. They are beautiful birds, great shots. Thanks for sharing.
Reminds me of the human mating habits. Lots of fighting goes on there as well.
These are surely beautiful captures!Have a great week ahead.
Shantana
Well, my goodness, I so enjoyed these beautiful photos. Those white wings opened up are just stunning! There seem to be similarities to the blue heron mating season that I have been observing for a few years now at Stanley Park (Vancouver, BC)
I love the colours of the beaks when they are in breeding. Great to see such numbers too
Wonderful images of your beautiful Egrets.
Wow! Beautiful egrets and so many in 1 tree. What an opportunity to capture them in their mating state
Oh..great post and photos…Michelle
quite the busy rookery! neat and noisy!
Beautiful captures! How wonderful to be able to observe a colony of this size.
Great post for WBW!
some wonderful photographs taken on a good clear day by the looks of it; thanks for sharing
Beautiful!!!! I had never seen one of this species until we retired to Texas, and they just never cease to astound me.
Great photos.
Wood Stork
I’ve never seen so many big birds in one tree at the same time! These are great shots, Esther. The egrets are beautiful and their courting dances look quite intricate.
Incredible shots of the Cattle Egret Esther! They have such a complex courtship behavior. I would love to see that in person!
ps….
Just wanted you to know that I added a linky to my newest bird photos today. If you’d care to stop by and leave a link. And perhaps if you know of anyone who loves birding–let them know of the new birding meme I set up for a weekly run—The Bird D’Pot. Stop by if you can. And have a glorious week.
I’d Rather B Birdin’
Wonderful pictures. I saw a huge (3000+) evening roost of these birds last week. Of course they were not in breeding mode – different time of year here!
I thought I’d let you know that I stepped into the void caused by Springmans decision to close down World Bird Wednesday by setting up Wild Bird Wednesday (!) on my photoblog at Paying Ready Attention – Photo Gallery.
Feel free to visit and link.
Stewart M – Australia
It sure will be a busy place, soon!!
Leave A Reply