david allio

Great Egret – St Marks National Wildlife Refuge

Wading in waters of St Marks National Wildlife Refuge near sunset, a Great Egret Ardea alba goes Spear Fishing. "The Great Egret eats mainly small fish but also eats amphibians, reptiles, birds, small mammals and invertebrates such as crayfish, prawns, shrimp, polychaete worms, isopods, dragonflies and damselflies, whirligig beetles, giant water bugs, and grasshoppers. It hunts in belly-deep or shallower water in marine, brackish, and freshwater wetlands, alone or in groups. It wades as it searches for prey, or simply stands still to wait for prey to approach."¹