Little Egret at the nature reserve

Although it is called "Little Egret" it is one of the bigger birds here in Austria. Ok, in the family of the herons it is one of the smaller ones, but overall it is a pretty big bird. I like it because it has a very nice little crest on the head, and it is also a bird that is wading in the shallow water to look for fish and frogs. On this first pictures it was able to catch a fish and eat it but, it was a little big so the bird had problems getting it down. In german there is this saying "Eyes bigger than the mouth".

Little Egret chocking on a fish. Picture: Florian Glechner.

Although it is one of the more common birds here, and I am able to see it on several of my trips, I am always a bit happy when I am able to take some pictures of the little egret. It is so majestic compared to the grey heron from the same family of birds. And I also like it's crest. Like with other birds, this little egrets are very shy in some regions here and on others they are not. When I saw one at the Danube river some time ago it immediatley flew away even though I wasn't as close as to this one at the Inn River that didn't mind my presence.

Little Egret flying away. Picture: Florian Glechner.

Little Egret shaking it's feathers. Picture: Florian Glechner.

Little Egret dancing. Picture: Florian Glechner.

Walking in the water near some reed. Picture: Florian Glechner.