Robo-Reddish?

[Bill Dix]

I had been wading in San Carlos Bay, and was working my way back toward the beach just as the sun was setting, when I saw this guy headed toward me from the left. I stopped and set the tripod, and he kept coming in my direction, then veered and did 3/4 of a circle around me, keeping at a frame-filling distance from me the whole time. I noticed the antenna protruding from his back, and in my end-of-a-long-day stupor I fantasized that someone on the beach was controlling him with a joystick, playing games with me. I assume some agency is tracking him; perhaps someone in SW Florida will know his story.

D500, 500f4 + 1.4 TC, ISO 800, 1/3200s @ f/7.1 manual. Stretched canvas a bit on bottom and right. Briefly considered removing the TC but didn't want to miss the moment, or drop it into the bay.

[Bill Dix]

Here he is without the antenna.

[Joseph Przybyla]

Hey Bill, lovely Reddish Egret. Wonderful late evening light, love the raised foot and intense stare searching for food. Thank you for sharing.

[Isaac Grant]

I prefer with the plume. Very nice running pose. Image quality looks great. As with the little blue shot I find this a little dark.

[Bill Dix]

I prefer with the plume. Very nice running pose. Image quality looks great. As with the little blue shot I find this a little dark.

Funny thing:I photographed the same bird 6 days earlier, and at the time, I did think that was a plume, or errant feather. But on close inspection, it is a twisted metal wire, with some sort of bulb-like shape where it is attached to the bird. I thought about brightening the image, but this is how it appeared to me in the last rays of sunlight.

[John Rowell]

Very nice light on this Reddish. These "drones" are around from time to time: http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php/134987-Reddish-Egret?highlight=. Yours isn't banded on the right leg, so it's a different bird than I captured last year at Ding Darling. The Friends of Ding Darling are doing a study on their flight patterns, so I wonder if your egret came up from Sanibel.

[Bill Dix]

Very nice light on this Reddish. These "drones" are around from time to time: http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php/134987-Reddish-Egret?highlight=. Yours isn't banded on the right leg, so it's a different bird than I captured last year at Ding Darling. The Friends of Ding Darling are doing a study on their flight patterns, so I wonder if your egret came up from Sanibel.

Thanks John. Now that you mention it, I remember your capture from last year. "My" bird has a band on the left leg, which looks very similar to the band on the right leg of yours. Perhaps it is part of the Ding Darling study, since this was captured right across the bay at Bunche Beach. Here's the link to the NWRS site: https://www.fws.gov/refuges/news/reddish_egrets_at_ding_darling_nwr.html

[Bill Dix]

Isaac, for what it's worth, here he is a bit brighter. Maybe it is a little better after all. WDYT?

[Isaac Grant]

I like it more for sure.

[Daniel Cadieux]

I love the foot splashing across the surface of the water...how cool is that! Great light. I do prefer without the antenna. Very strong image Bill!

[John Whaley]

It is a beautiful image Bill. The light is wonderful and the pose with raised foot and water splashing dynamic. I like the second version with the exposure raised a bit.

[Frank Schauf]

Nice pose, he's still here.:bg3:

[Bill Dix]

Thanks again everyone. Nice to know he's still around.