Egret behaviour question

Geoff F · #1 (**permalink**) 28-10-2009, 04:43 PM

Previously I have mentioned a Little Egret which feeds around the Salcombe Fish Quay during the winter and I have shown photos of one sticking it's neck through a crab store box to catch small fish which were hiding inside.

Well I've now seen a different feeding technique. It wades out on the slipway and moves it's beak around to create ripples then after a few minutes stops and waits in the classic ready to pounce position.

Then it pounces on a small fish and the procedure starts over again. If it fails to find a fish within a short while it starts over again.

At first, I thought it was simply cleaning it's beak but this kept happening so it must be part of it's feeding technique. Possibly stirring up sediment or clearing dirty water. Either way the beak is placed shallowly just under the surface and not touching the bottom. Could it be creating bubbles or using some other bizarre method to confuse it's prey?

Anybody else seen this sort of feeding method?

ps. I was about 15 feet away as this bird takes little notice of people.

Jason Claxton · #2 (**permalink**) 28-10-2009, 09:00 PM

Hi Geoff,maybe when the sediment is displaced by the Egret,invertebrates are revealed ,and with that the fish come along to feed,then yum for the Egret

Geoff F · #3 (**permalink**) 29-10-2009, 06:59 PM

I have processed the remaining images now and done some enlargements. This bird appears to be moving it's beak from side to side to create a bit of a wave.

It is on a concrete slipway although there is always a thin film of sediment over the lower end near the low water mark and tiny fish do hide in the shallows along with prawns.

Whatever the method, it does appear to be working so I will keep an eye on this clever creature to see what else it comes up with.

Jason Claxton · #4 (**permalink**) 29-10-2009, 07:34 PM

Yes Geoff the Little Egret does have a fair few tricks up its sleeve,in this case it might be flushing out prey,or if not bringing up bait when displacing the sediment ,which may lure the fish in.Have you seen it use its feet as a lure?They do that as well, I bet there are few other techniques employed by the Egret too.Cheers Jason

bobbarber · #5 (**permalink**) 29-10-2009, 11:43 PM

Quote:

Well I've now seen a different feeding technique. It wades out on the slipway and moves it's beak around to create ripples then after a few minutes stops and waits in the classic ready to pounce position.

Could it possibly be doing this to break up the reflection of the sky on the surface of the water...Bob