Great Egret: York County Maine, USA, August 2024 — One of the great things about bird and wildlife photography is that you just never know what is going to happen. It was such a slow morning yesterday that I was doing macros of fungi in the forest, just to keep myself busy (and, honestly, because I enjoy photographing mushrooms) but when I stepped back out onto the marsh trail what should come flying by but this Great Egret…close too. It made one loop coming down river past me, and then disappeared way up river. This one has it all. The bird. The feather detail. the sun light highlighting the head and beak, the extension of the wings, the cloud mottled blue sky behind! Not expecting that. But so glad to be there when it happened and ready with my camera. Sony a6700 with the Tamron 50-400 Di iii VC VXD zoom at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my action and flight modifications. ISO 200 @ f6.3 +.3EV @ 1/2000th. Processed in Photomator.