Great Egret Has A Meal At Washtenaw GC

Great Egret Has A Meal At Washtenaw GC

I find that one of the great joys of walking a golf course is in being able to observe the wide variety of wildlife that call these spaces home.

At Washtenaw, I’ve seen deer, foxes, muskrat, mink, hawks, ducks of many species, blue herons, cormorants and even bald eagles. Then there are the Canada Geese, which I regard as monsters. Fortunately there are far fewer of those this year than in years past.

On my round tonight, I spied a Great Egret fishing in Paint Creek, which runs through the front end of Washtenaw Golf Club. I was able to snap a photo just as it was about to scarf down a fish.

The Great Egret is a member of the heron family. Its habitat extends over much of the world, and is found throughout the United States. It is distinguished by white feathers, yellow bill and black feet, all of which can be seen in the photo.

The National Audubon Society was formed in 1905 to protect the Great Egret and other birds which were being killed in large numbers for their feathers, which were used as decorations in hats.

I also spotted this mushroom as I was looking for my ball.

I don’t know anything about mushrooms, so I wouldn’t even begin to hazard a guess as to its species. I thought it was pretty, though.