Ivory and Ivory-and-Ebony

As I walked into the Gilbert Water Ranch — one of my favourite places for finding large-enough-to-be-photographed birds — I saw these ducks, anxiously hanging out on the shore of one of the water-treatment ponds. A sign of what was to come? You be the judge.

There were snowy egrets, hanging out in low branches of shoreline bushes. Hunting? Who can tell? They always look like they’re hunting.

There were great egrets unambiguously hunting in a shallow pond. This is what my camera’s rapid-fire option was made for. Initial contact always makes a substantial sploosh.

There were pelicans floating around peacefully, looking for all the world like they wouldn’t try to steal a fish from a cormorant.

There were female avocets, edging me away from the all-white birds while carefully edging away from me through deep-ish waters. She’s wading, not swimming.

There was an adult night-crowned black heron and a nearby juvenile, more-or-less immobile. A parent/offspring duo? They weren’t saying, but their eyes are the same remarkable colour, so there’s that.

And finally, there were the stars of the show, dressed to kill as always: black-necked stilts.