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Wednesday 23 February 2022

White Magic

I went out for a stroll in my local woodland this morning. I took a few pictures of the Blackthorn blossom which is just appearing. Out of the corner of my eye I spied a flash of white moving along the tiny river. I crept over and it flapped languidly up on to a low branch. A Little Egret. And there it sat allowing me to take as many pictures as I wanted - the blossom in the breeze was actually moving more than the bird! 

















And that - apart from a long conversation with a man mending a fence after the recent storms - was my entertainment for this morning.


Take care.


30 comments:

  1. Fabulous pictures of both the blossoms and the egret!

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  2. White and white...so beautiful! Are those apple blossoms? There sure are a lot of them!
    I've opened for reply, (notify me button) so will get a copy of every other comment as well as hopefully a kind of blossom answer.

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    1. Oh I'm so sorry...if I just read the words instead of looked at the photos! Duh.

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    2. Blackthorn, it's also known as Sloe from the fruits which are used to make sloe gin. It's usually a bush or hedgerow plant but can grow into a small tree. The blossom always appears before the leaves, sometimes in February but more usually in March.

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  3. And what entertainment John. I adore blackthorne blossom - sadly it is too early to know whether we will have sloes or not. We had plenty of blossom on the farm in the hedges. Some years enough sloes to make sloe gin - other years if there had been sharp frosts - not a sign. As for the egret - what a beauty and can't help thinking he knows it.

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  4. Studies in white, how beautiful!

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  5. Blossoms and bird! What more could a person ask for. It was as if the bird were paid to pose for you. Wonderful shots.

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  6. This was a beautiful post to read and look through. Wonderful.

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  7. That egret is so lovely! I am so glad it stopped to pose for you. Great photos!

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  8. Your day started great. Perfect photos of your model bird, very beautiful.

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  9. I dont know which is more beautiful; the soft white bird, or the soft white blossoms. Either one! Thanks for sharing.

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  10. Could be black magic or white magic - either way your pictures are stunning. In particular the last photo of the egret and the blackthorn blossom against a black background.

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  11. That bird posed like it had been trained to do so. We have egrets here too, but much bigger--and only during migration, although occasionally one will over-winter. Things in bloom already. You are far ahead of us.

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  12. What a wonderful group of pictures! Co-operative Little Egret!

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  13. Lovely photos. When I saw your heading I thought you had snow.

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  14. Not often do you get a bird to take a good look at you while you get some great photos.

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  15. He's a very compliant bird and beautiful. A nice way to be entertained.

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  16. Hi John - excellent photos about white magic - gorgeous time of year. The Little Egret is delightful ... cheers Hilary

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  17. All this white speaks to the purity of spring perhaps. If you were drawn to the metaphysical you might have interpreted it thus, John, but a discussion of a storm- damaged fence no doubt made it all a little more prosaic.

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  18. Wonderful, you have a flower and very nice bird. You was lucky you found them.

    I answer your comment in my block, we had a short wonderland. Yesterday it was -11 C in the morning and -5 C in the evening. Today it is different, it is +3 C, all the whiteness has disappeared and there is a lot of slush and almost it's raining. If the frost comes soon, there will be a lot of slipperiness. It would be "skull weather", as we say in Finland. We have also crazy weather.

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  19. When I saw the title of this post I expected to see lots of snow. What a surprise it was to see this beautiful Egret. Lovely white magic, John.

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  20. He really is magical, and the blossom so pretty. I know just how you felt being able to have a bird actually pose and stay still while you tapped that shutter button many times. It's always such a precious few moments. . . . . . . . and then one takes a breath, relaxes the arms, sighs, and wonders why all the world can't be so perfect and peaceful.
    Thanks for these lovely photos John.

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  21. Love the signs of spring. We have a lot longer to see those.

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  22. Really like the way you highlighted the matching colours of the blossoms and the egret. He has such flashy yellow feet. Very handsome bird.

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  23. Rhapsody is white. Quite lovely, and what an accommodating egret. Is it early for blooms or is it right on time in your neck of the woods?

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  24. A beautiful morning's entertainment:)

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  25. Wonderful pictures! So magical!

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