Great Egret hunting in the rain

on 10th December 2010

Lena Chow was at the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve on the 27th November 2010 when there was a short downpour. “I noticed that instead of taking shelter, the various waders (greenshanks, redshanks, whimbrels, plovers) seemed to prefer standing in the pouring rain – I wonder why. A Great Egret (Casmerodius albus) was in fact actively hunting and stabbing its quarry in the shallows in thunderstorm – here’s a video of the hunting Great Egret.

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YC Wee

Dr Wee played a significant role as a green advocate in Singapore through his extensive involvement in various organizations and committees: as Secretary and Chairman for the Malayan Nature Society (Singapore Branch), and with the Nature Society (Singapore) as founding President (1978-1995). He has also served in the Nature Reserve Board (1987-1989), Nature Reserves Committee (1990-1996), National Council on the Environment/Singapore Environment Council (1992-1996), Work-Group on Nature Conservation (1992) and Inter-Varsity Council on the Environment (1995-1997). He is Patron of the Singapore Gardening Society and was appointed Honorary Museum Associate of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) in 2012. In 2005, Dr Wee started the Bird Ecology Study Group. With more than 6,000 entries, the website has become a valuable resource consulted by students, birdwatchers and researchers locally and internationally. The views and opinions expressed in this article are his own, and do not represent those of LKCNHM, the National University of Singapore or its affiliated institutions.

Other posts by YC Wee

One Response

  1. I wonder if the rain actually stirs up the fish and other possible prey, making this a better time for feeding for the egret. Or it may be that the rain doesn’t cause any advantage, and he is just continuing his normal activity. I’m impressed with how it seems that all the rain on the surface doesn’t cause any distortion problems – it looks like the bird is as accurate as usual in catching prey.

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