Tides, Winds, and Egrets: A Post-Hurricane Marsh Experience

The wind still carried traces of Hurricane Milton as I made my way to the marsh. Offshore, waves crashed into whitecaps, loud and persistent. The tide, higher than normal, pushed into the marsh, driven by the storm’s lingering force. The winds were steady, wrapping inland as the storm moved away.

At high tide, I startled a clapper rail hiding in the higher marsh grass. After waiting over an hour for the tide to start receding, I walked to the back of the marsh and found a mixed flock of wading birds—Snowy and Great Egrets, White Ibises, Wood Storks, Tricolored and Little Blue Herons—gathered on a mud bank. Each species seemed to be waiting for the right moment, heads down, focused on the retreating water.

As I returned to the beach, the tide slowly ebbed, battling the wind. A Snowy Egret landed nearby, darting quickly through the shallow water, snatching up large shrimp—likely pushed inland by the storm surge. A Laughing Gull hovered above, trying to steal the shrimp. The Snowy held firm in the brief skirmish and continued its hunt.

Soon, a Great Egret joined the scene. Both egrets began feasting on shrimp, with every jab of their beaks yielding a catch. It was easy pickings. I lay flat in the water, careful to keep my camera steady and dry as the tide rolled out around me. The manual focus on my 100mm art lens allowed me to capture every detail as the two egrets circled close, just a few feet away. I could feel the wind and the rush of the outgoing tide, but all that mattered was the moment.

Watching them fish so efficiently, I realized how fortunate I was to witness this feeding frenzy. The storm had passed, but in its wake, it had left a temporary abundance, and I was right in the middle of it.