Photo by Craig O'Neal
Photographing wildlife is really a study of behaviors. What was just another snowy egret one moment turns out to be quite a different image within a second or two. Natural actions of an animal make all the difference in a photo but takes patients and a little knowledge.
This egret was standing on a log when I noticed through my lens that one of its claws was missing. While watching the bird preen itself, I thought it was just a matter of time before it would start scratching its head as they often do.
Catching just the right moment with the foot up in the air, head turned just right and its plume of feathers on top of the head, made this the interesting photo I was looking for.
Captured in St. Augustine Florida last week with a Canon 50d, 300mm f3.5 exposure 1/400 ISO 160.
