Snowy Egret "keepers" from my November 2019 trip to the Bolivar Peninsula (TX)

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Opportunities to photograph Snowy Egrets were plentiful. It was easy to ignore clusters of Snowies feeding in the water than had accumulated on the sides of the road during several day-long rainfalls and sustained high tides. Below, I show my favorite images of these beautiful birds that were acquired during the two weeks I was on the Bolivar Peninsula.

Snowy Egret - Bolivar Peninsula (TX) - November 2019
E-M1X Olympus camera, 300mm f/4 lens, 1.4x teleconverter
1/2500 sec at f/5.6, ISO 200

Snowy Egret - Bolivar Peninsula (TX) - November 2019
E-M1X Olympus camera, 300mm f/4 lens, 1.4x teleconverter
1/4000 sec at f/5.6, ISO 800

Snowy Egret - Bolivar Peninsula (TX) - November 2019
E-M1X Olympus camera, 300mm f/4 lens, 1.4x teleconverter
1/4000 sec at f/5.6, ISO 800

Snowy Egret - Bolivar Peninsula (TX) - November 2019
E-M1X Olympus camera, 300mm f/4 lens, 1.4x teleconverter
1/4000 sec at f/5.6, ISO 800

Snowy Egret Landing Sequence shown below
E-M1X Olympus camera, 300mm f/4 lens, 1.4x teleconverter
Settings for all four photos were 1/2000 sec at f/5.6, ISO 125

Seven photos of another landing sequence in which both the Snowy Egret and its full reflection were captured.
E-M1X Olympus camera and 300mm f/4 lens
1/2000 sec at f/5.6, ISO 125 or 160

The four remaining images are not part of a sequence. They are just individual shots that I like.
E-M1X Olympus camera, 300mm f/4 lens, 1.4x teleconverter
1/2500 sec at f/5.6, ISO 250, 160, and 500

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David Sparks

I retired in 2005 after 40 years of research and teaching at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (24 years), the University of Pennsylvania (8 years) and the Baylor College of Medicine (8 years). Photography is my retirement hobby.

Nature photography, especially bird photography, combines a number of things that I really enjoy: bird-watching, being outdoors, photography, travel, messing about with computers, and learning new skills and concepts.  I now spend much of my time engaged in these activities.

David Sibley in the preface to The Sibley Guide to Birds wrote "Birds are beautiful, in spectacular as well as subtle ways; their colors, shapes, actions, and sounds are among the most aesthetically pleasing in nature."  My goal is to acquire images that capture the beauty and uniqueness of selected species as well as images that highlight the engaging behaviors the birds exhibit.