These egrets will sit on trees to preen while keeping an eye on the fishermen and their catch.

I took this at a bayou that is also a state preserve. Florida preserves give wildlife a safe place to thrive outside of the urban sprawl. Egrets are opportunists that adapt to just about anything. Often I'll see them on the front lawn looking for lizards. It's not uncommon to see them perched on the roof of a car.

However, just because they adapt doesn't mean they're not skittish. If you get too close, they'll fly away, so I had to keep a comfortable distance to capture this photo. That meant using a 70-200mm lens with a 2x converter for a total of 400mm. It's rare that I carry that combination, but I'm glad I did on this day.

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