Cattle Egrets…and…Spot The Imposter!
Monday morning we were very excited to spot some cattle egrets in the salt marsh among the oyster beds. These egrets are interesting and unusual for this area so it was quite a treat to see them! A bit later we saw a large group of them flying above the marsh pond. But…all may not be as it seems. They may not all be cattle egrets…there may be an imposter who slyly infiltrated the group. Can you pick out the individual who doesn’t belong??
Phil Lanoue Photography 
The snowy egret has bright yellow feet, but I can’t pick him out. 😦 Great pics again, Phil. 🙂
Thanks so much for playing Spot The Imposter! You are on the right track Sylvia!
Glad you liked these pics!
So I don’t get the prize? 😦
Oh you get a prize alright. It’s the Play At Home version of our popular blog game and it’s being rushed to you via FedEx as we speak.
But… there may be a little hitch. I’m just not sure exactly which item got shipped to you. There apparently was a bit of a mix up. You are supposed to recieve our wildly popular board game “Life in the Marshland” where you take turns moving pieces around the board as you encounter various exciting marsh critters.
However…should you instead receive a large crate marked Live Animals and you hear some thrashing about coming from inside, please open it carefully, then maybe step back a bit. 😯
If I hear from GatorWorld that they just got in a board game I’ll be sure to let you know immediately. Or pretty quick anyway. 😛 😉
Bwahahaha!! You’re so funny. I just looked in my porch about 5 minutes ago, but all that was there, was a spare battery for the new camera and some Estee Lauder. Slightly more tame than an alligator in a crate. 😆
Well sounds like you are safe for tonight. But you may want to peek out the window before going out to grab the morning paper tomorrow. 😯
I guess he thought if he just stayed a little behind the flock then they wouldn’t notice! Great photos of all of them!
Either that or he was escorting the group out of his area. Good spot Molly! thanks 😀
Great photos Phil !
Thanks very much Karine!
I guess the snowy egret is the last one flying there, the one with the black bill as opposed to yellow? How funny that this bird has infiltrated this flock. This would seem quite unusual behaviour. Lovely pictures Phil.
Your guess is correct! I didn’t realize until looking at the photos later that there was one snowy in the group. I have some photos taken just prior to that where there are a couple of wood storks flying by but those are kinda easy to pick out. 😀
Pretty sure it is that last one on the far left, but man it is tough to spot. He is a good imposter. 🙂
Yup, last one in the lower left. Good eye to spot him! He does blend in well doesn’t he?! 🙂
I would have to guess the snowy egret lagging in the back at the bottom…interesting how he just blends right in with the others. Great captures as always.
Yes that’s him alright, bottom, left. 🙂 Not sure what his ultimate plan was to infiltrate the cattle egret group.
Thanks for looking!
Nice photo’s Phil.
Thanks I appreciate you looking.
Glad there was a cheat sheet in the comments section!
Ah Ha! Busted! 😉 😀
Ok…I totally don’t see the interloper, but thanks for tagging it! LOL
Oh he’s sneaky… 😛
Se non sbaglio dovrebbe essere l’ultima in basso a sinistra, ha le zampe gialle mentre tutte gli altri uccelli le hanno nere.
Splendide foto. Ciao, Pat
Sì lei ha ragione. E ‘l’ultima in basso a sinistra! Buon lavoro per individuare quello!
Grazie per guardare le mie foto!
I’m fascinated by what they are standing on in the river!! wierd looking stumps!!
Ah, you didn’t read my description…they are standing on oyster beds in the salt marsh. 😛 😀
Great shot, Phil! I think the snowy is the one at the bottom left, but I could be wrong, they all really looks the same, except that one has yellow feet and the rest have dark ones (or twos…LOL).
Very good eye to spot that one Gracie and you are indeed correct, that is the sneaky imposter! 😀
Good work!
Nice captures, Phil.
Thanks very much Mike.
i always like a good birds in flight photo and this one with a twist even better
Thanks I appreciate your kind comments!
I think I need new glasses. Simply could not catch the difference. It’s still hard to see even after reading comments that give it away. As for the oyster beds. I read the description, but like Lisaman I had no idea that’s what they looked like, so it didn’t register.
I guess I tend to forget that something I see every day such as oyster beds will not at all necessarily be obvious to others even if it is mentioned in the description. I sometimes get the same way about alligators. You mean everybody doesn’t have them walking around in their yards?! 😉 😀
I see him!
I knew you would!
Well, I’m glad I’m not alone I had trouble finding Waldo. :+) I read the comments sometimes I’m not the best birder.
It was tough to spot. I didn’t realize one was different for a while even zooming in close.
Thanks for checking these out!
Ha, ha…I see those telltale yellow feet!
Great shots!
That’s the first thing I saw too that alerted me that all was not as it appeared. 😀
¡Bellas tomas! el plumaje de las garcillas se parece a los criaderos!
¡Gracias! Me alegra que te gusta las fotos! Ellos se ven como garcetas grandes.
Yea, me! I found the snowy, by his feet. I didn’t notice the bill until I read the comments. Isn’t it funny how different people spot different things? I wonder if the birds have their own way of distinguishing us from one another? LOL
Good job spotting the imposter! The feet was the first thing that stood out for me as well.
Great question about the birds knowing one person from another. I suppose it’s possible, some are quite intelligent.
I expect there could be a few that are sick of seeing me around. 😀