images by date of photo

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Morning Glory ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
“If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly our whole life would change.” ~ Buddha
Morning Glory blue glow Huron River and Watershed Michigan flower flora nature garden vine
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Downy Woodpecker, Leaning Against Stiffened Tail Feathers for Support ~ Dryobates pubescens ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
Downy Woodpecker Dryobates pubescens Huron River and Watershed Michigan bird acrobatic forager black and white fauna frequent members of mixed flocks drum rather than sing songs oldest almost 12 years short bill white spotting males have red nape shrill whinnying call eat mainly insects excavating nest holes takes 1 to 3 weeks undulating flight pattern
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Sea and Sky ~ Southern Outer Banks, North Carolina
"I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by;
And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over."
~ John Masefield
ocean sea pelicans Southern Outer Banks North Carolina water sky waves clouds birds seascape tide Eastern Seaboard
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Snowy Egrets ~ Egretta thula ~ Eastern Seaboard
fauna Snowy.Egrets Egretta.thula New Smyrna Beach Florida Eastern Seaboard Heron white plumage shorebird oldest17yearsl bird
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Summit Lake ~ Washington State
summit lake washington Summit Lake water trees garden flowers landscape mist pines nature
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Willets in Winter ~ Tringa semipalmata ~ New Smyrna Beach, Florida
"To stand at the edge of the sea, to sense the ebb and flow of the tides, to feel the breath of a mist moving over a great salt marsh, to watch the flight of shore birds that have swept up and down the surf lines of the continents for untold thousands of years, to see the running of the old eels and the young shad to the sea, is to have knowledge of things that are as nearly eternal as any earthly life can be." ~ Rachel Carson
Tringa semipalmata shorebird Willet Playero Aliblanco Chevalier semipalme feed day and night short to longdistance migrant sandpiper bird fauna. nature on the wing Florida New Smyrna Beach coastline wildlife sea tides
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Coastal Waters ~ Oregon
“Alis volat propriis” ~ Motto of the State of Oregon
Pacific Coast coast sea coastal waters ocean coastline Oregon water clouds sky vast view
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Downy Woodpecker ~ Dryobates pubescens ~ Huron River and Watershed
"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge." ~ Albert Einstein. Thank you, Carl Berger.
Downy Woodpecker Dryobates pubescens Huron River and Watershed Michigan bird nature acrobatic forager joins mixed flocks drummers don't sing songs undulating fliers Pico Pubescente Pic mineur small versions of classic woodpeckers males have small red patch on back of head common feeder bird fauna
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Tufted Titmouse ~ Baeolophus Bicolor ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
"I once met a man who said he had visited every exotic place from the Grand Canyon to the Great Wall, but when I questioned him closely I discovered he hadn't seen the songbirds in his own backyard." ~ Richard Bode
Tufted Titmouse Baeolophus bicolor bird echoing voice songbird nature on the wing fauna forager acrobat
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Black-capped Chickadee ~ Poecile atricapillus ~ Huron River and Watershed
"Use what talent you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best." ~ Author unknown, quoted in The Ladies Repository: A Monthly Periodical, Devoted to Literature, Arts, and Religion, September 1874, commonly misattributed to Henry Van Dyke and Henry David Thoreau
curious.and.social Blackcapped.Chickadee Poecile atricapillus acrobats presence may indicate other migrants communications complex and language like old brain neurons replaced by new for adaptation purposes Huron River and Watershed fauna on the wing songbird not migratory nature
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Happy Thanksgiving from Michigan!
"When I was younger, I used to drive up to a bunch of turkeys, roll down the window and say something. They'd all gobble back at once." ~ Levon Helm
Huron.River.and.Watershed fauna on the wing nature bird Wild Turkey Meleagris gallopavo feathers gobblers only 1 of 2 domesticate birds native to new world may be named after country Turkey some turkey fossils date from more than 5 millions years ago can swim game bird unfeathered head black and red wattles bronze and green iridescent plumage roost in trees travel roost and forage in flocks responds well to efforts of game maangers 2nd most sought game after deer give soft purring sounds while on ground
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Musquash ~ Huron River and Watershed
"Courage. What makes the flag on the mast to wave? What makes the elephant charge his tusk in the misty mist, or the dusky dusk? What makes the muskrat guard his musk? Courage! What makes the sphinx the seventh wonder? Courage! What makes the dawn come up like thunder? Courage! What makes the Hottentot so hot? What puts the "ape" in apricot?" ~ Cowardly Lion/L. Frank Baum
native to North America musquash Huron River and Watershed animal fauna semiaquatic water wetland not member of genus Rattus musky odor muskbeaver muskrat Hudson seal fur
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Elusive White Deer ~ Huron River and Watershed
"....keep your eyes out for the elusive white deer. This deer is albino, an animal with a genetic mutation where it is unable to produce melanin ~ a dark pigment which produces the typical coloration of the animal. Albinism in deer is rare, there is a one in 10,000 chance of a parent passing the gene to its offspring.... Please allow them to enjoy their beautiful home by respecting their space." ~ Danielle Mauter
white deer albino Huron River and Watershed fauna animal white nature Michigan
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Morning Walk ~ Huron River and Watershed
“A walk?" said Catharine. "One foot in front of the other," said Newt, "through leaves, over bridges---” ~ Kurt Vonnegut
morning walk Huron River and Watershed Michigan grass trees sky bridge pathway puddles
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River in October ~ Huron River and Watershed
“Not I, nor anyone else can travel that road for you.
You must travel it by yourself.
It is not far. It is within reach.
Perhaps you have been on it since you were born, and did not know.
Perhaps it is everywhere - on water and land.”
~ Walt Whitman
river sky clouds trees Huron River October fall autumn Michigan ripples
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Along Route 1, Pacific Coast
"Counted the stars on the Fourth of July
Wishing we were rockets bursting in the sky
Talking about redemption and leaving things behind
As the sun sank west of the Mendocino County line."
~ Willie Nelson
Route 1 Pacific Coast ocean sky waves sand Fort Bragg California water dunes shore seaside sea Pacific Ocean shoreline MacKerricher State Park Mendocino Coast
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Blooming ~ Huron River and Watershed
bloom purple Huron River and Watershed flowers nature natural beauty plant
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White-Breasted Nuthatch, with Photographer in Background ~ Sitta carolinensis ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." ~ proverbial saying
White breasted Nuthatch Sitta carolinensis Huron River and Watershed Michigan bird bird food nature fauna
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Blossom and Light ~ Shenango Valley, Pennsylvania
"I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious." ~ Albert Einstein
blossom light flower flora pink pond green leaves Shenango Valley Pennsylvania
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Fluffy White-breasted Nuthatch ~ Sitta carolinensis ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
"I don’t think of all the misery but of the beauty that still remains." ~ Anne Frank
White breasted Nuthatch bird Sitta carolinensis Huron River Watershed Michigan feeder bird on the wing fauna
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Rattlesnake Master ~ Eryngium yuccifolium ~ Huron River and Watershed
"Gardens are not made by singing, 'O, how beautiful,' and sitting in the shade." ~ Rudyard Kipling
gardens flowers flora nature natural Huron River and Watershed MIchigan
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Natural Beauty ~ Huron River and Watershed
"The butterfly is a flying flower, the flower a tethered butterfly." ~ Ponce Denis Ecouchard Lebrun
butterfly natural beauty yellow wings antenae petals nature on the wing flowers flora
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Design and Natural Beauty
"People travel the world over to visit untouched places of natural beauty, yet modern gardeners pay little heed to the simplicity and beauty of these environments...these special places we all must preserve and protect, each in his own way, before they are lost forever." ~ Mary Reynolds, Gold Medal winner at the Chelsea Flower Show, 2002, for her garden design; her story is portrayed in the lyrical movie, "Dare to be Wild." Here's an attempt to capture one small lovely corner of a local Master Gardener's efforts.
colors natural beauty garden design Dare to be Wild Mary Reynolds wild garden sanctuary natural environment nature wild nature wild spaces
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Voice of the Marsh ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
"The voice of the frog is the glory of the marsh waters." ~ Sumerian Proverb
frog amphibian water fauna nature batrachian polliwog croaker semaquatic
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"There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer.” ~ Ansel Adams
flora Huron River and Watershed Michigan flowers wildflowers yellow petals leaves summertime
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Summer Gold ~ Huron River and Watershed
"Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still." ~ Dorothea Lange
flora Huron River and Watershed Michigan flowers wildflowers petals golden summertime
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Snowy Egret ~ egretta thula ~ Eastern Seaboard
“If you see something that moves you, and then snap it, you keep a moment.” ~ Linda McCartney
on the wing fauna Snowy Egret bird Egretta thula Eastern Seaboard Florida seashore coast white plumage black legs yellow feet curvy plumes shorebird oldest 17 years spearfish water bird forager migratory long slender bill pond grass water
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Ranger, the Red-tailed Hawk ~ Buteo jamaicensis ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
Note tethering and perching gear for this rescued beauty of nature.
Ranger RedTailed Hawk bird captive bird Buteo.jamaicensis raptor shrill cry oldest known 30 years red tail broad round wings short wide tail 2nd largest buteo hawk residentshort distance migrant
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Chrystal Cemetery ~ Chrystal, Potter, Pennsylvania
"The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself." ~ Henry Miller
Chrystal Cemetery Potter County Pennsylvania
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Red-Bellied Woodpecker Takes the Peanut ~ Melanerpes carolinus ~ Huron River and Watershed
“Great photography is about depth of feeling, not depth of field.” ~ Peter Adams
Redbellied Woodpecker Melanerpes carolinus barred backs red cap oldest12 years pale belly red nape clings to tree bark undulating flight pattern bird
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Blue Jay with Peanut and Friend ~ Cyanocitta cristata ~ Huron River and Watershed
"Taking pictures is like tiptoeing into the kitchen late at night and stealing Oreo cookies.” ~ Diane Arbus
Blue Jay Cyanocitta cristata Huron River and Watershed Michigan bird songbird complex social system tight family bonds fondness for acorns sometimes migratory mimi calls of hawks tool user blue oldest known 26 years prominent crest bold black necklace bold white wingbar wings tail barred wblack abundant near forest edges knnown for intelligence often mate for life communicate vocally wbody language immense vocabulary excellent mimics gular pouch
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Mama Sandhill Crane and Her Endearing Canada Gosling ~ Branta canadensis and Antigone canadensis ~ Kensington Metropark, Michigan
10 days later and never leaving the other's side.
Canada Gosling Canada Goose Branta canadensis Sandhill Crane family Kensington Metropark Michigan birds gosling waterfowl bird adopted gosling unlikely pairing on the wing fauna animal nature wildlife adopted Huron River watershed Antigone canadensis
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Family ~ Adopted Canada Gosling, Mama Sandhill Crane, and Papa Sandhill Crane keeping watch over his family ~ Branta canadensis and Antigone canadensis ~ Kensington Metropark, Michigan
"Sandhill Cranes with Canada Goose Gosling"
Canada Gosling Canada Goose Branta canadensis Sandhill Crane family Kensington Metropark Michigan birds gosling waterfowl bird adopted gosling unlikely pairing on the wing fauna animal nature wildlife adopted Huron River watershed Antigone canadensis
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Family ~ Adopted Canada Gosling, Mom Sandhill Crane Stretching, and Brother Sandhill Crane Colt ~ Branta canadensis and Antigone canadensis ~ Kensington Metropark, Michigan
"Sandhill Crane Plays Mother Goose to Adopted Gosling at Kensington Metropark"
Canada Gosling Canada Goose Branta.canadensis Sandhill Crane family Kensington Metropark Michigan birds gosling waterfowl bird adopted gosling unlikely pairing on the wing fauna animal nature wildlife Antigone canadensis Huron River Watershed adopted
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Adopted Canada Gosling and Mama Sandhill Crane ~ Branta canadensis, Antigone canadensis ~ Kensington Metropark, Michigan
"This Sandhill Crane Couple Adopted Baby Goose"
Canada Gosling Canada Goose Branta.canadensis Sandhill Crane family Kensington Metropark Michigan birds gosling waterfowl bird adopted gosling unlikely pairing on the wing fauna animal nature wildlife Antigone canadensis Huron River Watershed adopted
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Adopted Canada Gosling and Mama Sandhill Crane ~ Branta canadensis, Antigone canadensis ~ Kensington Metropark, Michigan
For the dear adopted gosling who touched so many of our lives in his sweet earnestness to keep up with and protect Mama and Papa Sandhill Crane and Brother Colt and for the unwavering and loving devotion of Mama and Papa Sandhill Crane to both of their young ones. "Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air, are heading home again." ~ Mary Oliver
Canada Gosling Canada Goose Branta.canadensis Sandhill Crane family Kensington Metropark Michigan birds gosling waterfowl bird adopted gosling unlikely pairing on the wing fauna animal nature wildlife Antigone canadensis Huron River Watershed adopted
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Fluffy Northern Cardinal ~ Cardinalis cardinalis ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
“What I like about photographs is that they capture a moment that’s gone forever, impossible to reproduce.”
– Karl Lagerfeld
fauna Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis bird red Huron River Watershed Michigan sweet whistle nonmigratory songbird state bird of 7 states male black mask and throat like sunflower seeds males spread wings to protect young from sun
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Panoramic view from the upland hill and forest at the corner of Highup and Hunter roads, Jasper, Steuben County, New York
My ancestor, Jacobus James Quick, V, born 1797, his wife, Lucy Glosson, born 1808, and one of their children, Sylvenus Quick, born 1833, are buried along with several of the Marlatt family in the small Marlatt Cemetery on the edge of the forest just behind me. This might have been their view.

"Geographically, Jasper is located in the southwest part of the county, and contains 31,300 acres of land. The surface is a hilly and broken upland, some of the elevations reaching more than 2,000 feet above tide water. The streams are small brooks, and the soil is slaty, gravelly and clayey loam. From the hills of Jasper, in years past, there has been taken a quality of stone specially adapted to the manufacture of grindstones, but remote from the railroads of the county, and from commercial centers, the natural resources of this town have never been fully developed. Its inhabitants are, and for all time during the period of its history have been farmers; earnest, honest, steady and hardworking husbandmen, who, notwithstanding the disadvantages of location and the difficulty attending successful cultivation of the land, have succeeded in establishing for themselves a satisfactory and even comfortable condition of affairs, and the town today ranks well among the best farming sections of the county. The settlement of Jasper was begun in 1807, while the territory formed a part of the original town of Canisteo. The pioneer seems to have been Nicholas Brotzman, sr., or Prutzman, as once known, who came from Tioga County, Pa., and penetrated the dense forests that bordered on Canisteo River and Tuscarora Creek, until he reached the spot where he afterward lived. This pioneer was a German, and was perhaps was one of the most persevering of the early settlers in this whole region. His cabin was built near Marlatt's Corners of later years."
~ Landmarks of Steuben County, New York. Edited by: Hon. Harlo Hakes, Assisted By: L. C. Aldrich and Others. D. Mason & Company, Publishers, Syracuse, New York, 1896
land panorama upland forest Jasper Steuben County New York landscape farm trees clouds sky hills
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Cascading Color ~ Hermitage, Mercer County, Pennsylvania
“Flowers don’t worry about how they’re going to bloom. They just open up and turn toward the light and that makes them beautiful.” ~ Jim Carrey
nature cascading flora color flowers floral plants garden Hermitage Mercer County Pennsylvania pink
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White-breasted Nuthatch ~ Sitta carolinensis ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
“The reason birds can fly and we can't is simply because they have perfect faith, for to have faith is to have wings.” ~ J.M. Barrie
Whitebreasted Nuthatch Sitta carolinensis Huron River and Watershed Michigan bird short tailed bird black cap rusty spots on belly clings to tree bark moves at odd angles perch upside down on trees largest nuthatch gray blue on back white face and underparts hood birds of mature woods small bird with big voice on the wing fauna
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Barn Swallow ~ Hirundo rustica ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
"In many parts of the world, having Barn Swallows nesting on one's property is considered a sign of good fortune or a harbinger of spring. Legend has it that Barn Swallows consoled Christ on the cross by trying to remove the crown of thorns from his head and attempting to divert those coming to arrest him in the Garden of Gethsemane. Stories are told that Barn Swallows got their forked tails because they stole fire from the gods to give to the people, and their central tail feathers were shortened when they were burnt off by a firebrand hurled by a wrathful deity. Other legends have it that cows will give bloody milk or go dry if anything inopportune happens to the Barn Swallows nesting on a farm; lightning may even strike a house if a Barn Swallow nest is removed." ~ Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica bird blue on the wing feathers bill colbalt blue tawny below agile flyer deeply forked tail nests almost exclusively on human built structures winters in Southern Hemisphere sparrow sized swallow rusty throat and forehead white spots under tail seen only in flight feed almost exclusively in flight long distance migrant fauna
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Cedar Waxwing ~ Bombycilla cedrorum ~ Huron River and Watershed
"Some birds are not meant to be caged, that's all." ~ Stephen King
Bombycilla cedrorum Cedar Waxwing Huron River and Watershed bird wings feathers tail red wax droplets eat berries fauna onthewing waxy red secretions specializes in eating fruiut prominant crest pale hellow belly mediumsized bird social bird short to longdistance migration
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Red-bellied Woodpecker ~ Melanerpes carolinus ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
"To confine our attention to terrestrial matters would be to limit the human spirit." ~ Stephen Hawking
Redbellied Woodpecker Melanerpes carolinus bird Michigan woodpecker Huron River and Watershed red cap bills wings feathers beak woods on the wing
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Sandhill Crane, Keeping Watch over His Family ~ Antigone canadensis ~ Huron River and Watershed
"Magic birds were dancing in the mystic marsh. The grass swayed with them, and the shallow waters, and the earth fluttered under them. The earth was dancing with the cranes, and the low sun, and the wind and the sky." ~ Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
j van cise photos
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Abstract
sea ocean water waves sky froth abstract seascape mist
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Mom Sandhill Crane Teaching Her Adopted Canada Gosling ~ Branta canadensis, Antigone canadensis ~ Kensington Metropark, Michigan
"The Goose that Thought He was a Sandhill Crane"
Canada Gosling Canada Goose Branta.canadensis Sandhill Crane family Kensington Metropark Michigan birds gosling waterfowl bird adopted gosling unlikely pairing on the wing fauna animal nature wildlife Antigone canadensis Huron River Watershed adopted
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Northern Cardinal, Male ~ Cardinalis cardinalis ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
"May you come to find comfort in and remember ~ cardinals appear when angels are near. So go now, sit outside and drink your tea. Keep a look out for the little red bird ~ it is there your loved ones will be." ~ Victoria McGovern
Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis bird Huron River and Watershed red wings feathers bill beak tail nonmigratory do.not.molt prefer sunflower seeds songbird state bird of 7 states prominent crest thick bill black mask male longtailed 16 different calls
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Snowy Egret ~ egretta thula ~ Eastern Seaboard
“Photography is an austere and blazing poetry of the real.” ~ Ansel Adams
Snowy Egret bird Egretta thula beach shore Eastern Seaboard Florida seaside seashore sea coast white plumage black legs yellow feet curvy plumes shorebird oldest17 years heron mediumsized long slender bill spear fish waterbird forager migratory
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