My last morning at Fort De Soto started out with a pair of Reddish Egrets at the wading pools. I loved the birds but didn’t like the backgrounds. Brown mud flats are not pretty. So when a Reddish Egret flew into the shallow waters by the sandbar, I did a little happy dance. What a gorgeous bird in in a beautiful setting!

I could tell from his beak markings and partial breeding plumage that this was one of the birds I had seen earlier in the morning. Apparently he didn’t get enough fish at the wading ponds, because he kept pulling fish after fish out of the water.

I love watching these birds hunt. They throw their wings around to create shadows on the fish. The result is a fun dance that is always fun to photograph.

I seriously don’t understand how the bird could keep dancing and flying around with such a full belly.

The color of the gulf was so pretty that morning. I ended up sitting down in the very shallow water, which gave me a wonderful angle to the antics of this bird. The waves splashed and sparkled behind him while he contemplated his next move.

“Jump for Joy!” The ballerinas could take lessons from this bird. He has mastered the art of pointing his toes in mid-air!

Now I can’t wait to return to Fort De Soto!