Released 2010-06-05

Great Egret, Ardea alba

Like many other egrets, the Great Egret is a stalker: it either stands motionless or wades slowly along the water's edge, searching for its water-bound prey. When it spots something tasty, it thrusts its long neck suddenly forward, grabbing its prey in its beak. That is precisely what this egret is doing here. Only a few minutes before, however, the fish had the upper hand: while the egret was looking away, a mullet leapt out of the water right at the egret's feet, splashing and startling the bird. Watching such a graceful bird do a quick, clumsy half-leap while trying to escape whatever it was that must be trying to eat it made me chuckle. I guess we all have our ungraceful moments.

This is a limited edition photograph with a total of 250 photos printed across all sizes, as noted