I had a chance to observe and sketch this great egret in action yesterday. Luckily, it would hold a pose while searching for food!
The hunter became the hunted when a small alligator came gliding up to within 3 feet of the bird. A great flapping of wings (and what a wingspan it was!) ensued.
I held my breath as egret and alligator froze...after a very long minute, the egret majestically waded away. The small alligator seemed to consider his bad luck, and then turned and swam in the opposite direction.
I sketched as quickly as possible with the sepia pens, adding the watercolor washes later. The egret was quite tall, over 3 feet, almost four. I think the alligator was not even four feet long. I felt fortunate to witness the endless drama of nature playing out, and glad I could share it with you .
You can click on the image above to view it larger on my Flickr photostream.
Lovely page--I love seeing just the top of the alligator's head. When we moved to Florida, one of the things I fell in love with was the great variety and quantity of birds. I marvel at the amazing ones we can see at the retention ponds when we walk through our neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteHi Kathy, and thank you! It is amazing the birds you can see in Florida. Just today I had to drive around a flock of white ibis strutting down a residential street!
ReplyDeleteI thought at first I was seeing a piece of floating wood, until I recognized the snout of an alligator!