Cattle Egrets - (Bubulcus ibis)

Cattle Egrets - (Bubulcus ibis). I photographed these cattle egrets resting like fakirs on a bed of prickly thorns with Nikon D300s, Sigma supertele 300-800mm, f / 5.6, 1/1000 sec, ISO 250. Thanks for your comments

Fantastic picture, like a surreal, my best compliments, Giangiorgio! PDE

Grazie mille Pierre for your appreciated comment, ciao Giangiorgio

Hi Giangiorgio,

 

I agree with Pierre on the surreal quality of this photo. The prickly appearance of this shrub with so many egrets in it- all of them but one grooming their plumage- is a rare sight. We don't have cattle egrets here (I have never seen them, which is not the same) but there seem to be plenty on Sardinia. I like the colors and the strange distribution of the birds in the image. Kind regards, Vincent

Thanks Vincent for your beautiful and interesting comment. In fact, these cattle egrets were rare in Sardinia until about ten years ago, then they expanded from the coastal areas to the interior of the island where they follow the numerous flocks of sheep of which there is so much abundance. I don't know if this thorny acacia is a defense for them, because there are so many normal trees around. ciao Giangiorgio

The thorns give the “whole tree” image an interesting “Scratch Art” look. I’m wondering if a close up would show the bird better and increase the drama of the bird-thorn relationship. I suspect you took that image also?

Larry, many thanks for your nice comment. I couldn't get any closer to make a close-up because there was a wide channel between me and them, this is the only solution made with the super telephoto 300-800mm that allowed me to get so close , ciao Giangiorgio

It’s a good thing you had the BIG glass in your arsenal! I’m sure everyone is aware, but this image reminds me that our impression of an image is somewhat dependent on size (print or screen). On a 2 meter screen I think the whole tree image would be a WOW! On a smaller computer screen, like what most of us view photonet images, I think a close up would be more of a Wow!.

Giangiorgio, I too recognized the surrealistic feel and look the thorns provide. Fortunately, the birds roosting among them brought me back to earth and reality. What a marvelously executed, artistic image! - - My best always, michael

Michael , Thank you very much for your wonderful comments and your continued support, I am glad you liked it and put it into your favorites, ciao Giangiorgio

Larry, Thank you so much for your kind words and for the encouragement to improve the rendering of my photos, I'm glad you appreciated it , ciao Giangiorgio