Great and Snowy Egrets: Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, Florida, USA, January 2024 — The mass mixed feeding flock of wading birds got up and left the pools behind the entrance kiosk at Blackpoint Wildlife Drive just as I arrived soon after dawn on Sunday and flew away to the west. I did not find them again until later in the day, congregated in the small pond right beside the main Refuge road where it crosses the railroad tracks. This mass feeding behavior is common among Egrets and other wading birds as they follow the most recent hatch in various ponds around the refuge…often spending 3-5 days at one pond, only to move on, in mass, to another when the prey get sparse and fresh ponds beckon. As you can see from the photos, it takes a lot of prey this size to keep a Great Egret topped up. (The second photo is a crop from the first, showing the prey and the Egret’s tongue action more clearly. ) OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 200 and 420mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.