White Egret

Yesterday I was lucky enough to see a white egret on the dock at the fish market. I was within a couple of feet of him and he didn't fly away.

 At one time he had a broken foot and the fish market folks fed him while he recovered.

 They told me he now rules the dock like the king bird.

I noticed he has a yellow beak with some green at the edge. I researched the various egrets when I got home and found out he's an intermediate egret.

Of course I plan to make a plate with an egret on it. I'd like to capture the patina on the dock and pole and the softness of his feathers.

Egrets by Judith Wright

Once as I travelled through a quiet evening,

I saw a pool, jet-black and mirror-still.

Beyond, the slender paperbarks stood crowding;

each on it's own white image looked its fill.

and nothing moved but thirty egrets wading - 

thirty egrets in a quiet evening.

Once in a lifetime, lovely past believing,

your lucky eyes may light on such a pool.

As though for many years I had been waiting,

I watched in silence, till my heart was full

of clear dark water, and white trees unmoving,

and, whiter yet, those thirty egrets wading.

Thanks for reading and for all your comments.