There You Go: The Snowy Egret

Last winter when I was staying in Santa Ana I would sometimes visit the Santiago Park Nature Reserve, along Santiago Creek. The lower part of the creek is mostly dry and is primarily a flood control channel, with concrete banks (built by the WPA in the 1930s) lining its sides. A part of it is even used as a parking lot (providing it is not filled with water at the time!). The Nature Reserve is primarily a series of small parks and bike trails and includes a Nature Center. It is a refuge for wildlife in the heart of Orange County suburbia and a pleasant place to visit. One never knows what one might see there, you might be surprised!

The first few photos I took in September (still using the paint function on my camera - I hadn't weened myself of its use yet!). They show what the creek looks like, including a culvert from a spring that keeps a small portion of the creekbed wet year-round.

When I returned in December, I returned to the small patch of wetlands, and without knowing it, took a picture including the snowy egret (you can see it in the fifth picture below). I was startled to see such a beautiful bird in such an urban area, with trash strewn about and the constant sounds of traffic rom the nearby freeways. We don't have snowy egrets where I come from, and I don't think I've seen such a beautiful bird in the wild. What was amazing was that it knew I was there, not more than ten feet away, and stayed, ignoring me as it continued to hunt for food. I took over a hundred photos of it and spent at least an hour watching it, until the setting sun made it too dark to take more photos.

For me, it was a bit of a magical experience...I was totally oblivious to where I was, despite all the trash strewn about...I was watching this little bird...