Great Egret

When I was younger, maybe about 7th or 8th grade, I was down at the neighborhood pond when I saw a large white bird land in the reeds at the far side. This bird was huge and different from the small birds that I was used to seeing around like robins,crows, and cardinals. When I went home later that day I found myself grounded as usual, I was not allowed to go to the pond, woods, park or pretty much any where, which gave me a lot of time to go searching through my families outdated set of encyclopedias, my family never owned any books on birds let alone a field guide, to find that I had just spotted my first great egret.

This was one of those moments in my life that I will always remember, and one that I believe helped to shape me into the naturalist that I am today. Over the years my path may have veered, from time to time, away from nature but the awe that I had as a teenager when I saw that large white bird flying overhead has always been inside of me. The local pond by my parents house is still around but it is now surrounded by houses, apartments and townhouses. The egrets are not there any more but fortunately I know many places close by where I can be at peace in the natural world, like Purgatory Creek where I took these pics.