Who doesn’t love ABBA? Rhetorical question. But for those who do, Crank Up the Music.
We have been watching a Little Egret working the low tide shallows for the past few weeks.
Little Egrets like large areas of shallow water and will chase prey about in a series of long steps and short wingflaps. They do look like they are dancing in their elegant pursuit of highly mobile prey.
Sadly this one is out of breeding plumage and the long veils of plumes are absent.
The huges storms of about 6 months back redesigned the sand of the beach, the tidal pools, and mudflats. Swept them clean like a high pressure hose.
So much so that much of the normal feeding grounds amongst the mud and sand have been stripped away. The usual beach dwellers, ducks and waders have had to move to new feeding grounds.
The open waters seem to have been suitable for the fish to come in on the tide, and much to the delight of the Dancing Queen easy to spot in the shallows against the mudflat backdrop.
So Crank up the Music.
Birds as Poetry —— Just because I WANDER doesn't mean I'm LOST 
Great to see, David! I especially like that it caught a good sized fish.
A shame to hear the storms changed the area so much.
These are fabulous to watch as they hunt, they do indeed appear to be dancing!
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G’day.
The makeover of the beach is quite interesting, and shows how strong both the winds and the tides can be. Some parts of the foreshore have been cut down to a depth of about a half to one metre.
A lot has washed up the bay toward Altona, and is building up a huge sandbank where the Laverton Creek mouth is. Coincidently making it easier for the dog walkers to getou to where the birds roost.
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Great captures David, we can certainly see what you mean by the poses. They are so elegant. We do not see many of them here, though I did see many along the Nile last year and they did display a very interesting way of fishing
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Hi Ashley, we don’t get them on a regular basis, but just at present there seems to be a bit of an influx. Watching them fish in shallows is a treat.
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Such a beautiful series of images David. Good to see the dancing brought success!
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