A bird giving us a timing lesson!

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(Edited)

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Oh yeah, this guy really knows how to fish, as I have counted only 2 misses in 10 strikes!

I like to look for extraordinary lessons whenever I am out in nature and this one was not only interesting, but also intelligent and beautiful. Qualities that so many of us strive for in life.
It is our actions that determine our successes and split second timing is so essential at times. Too slow and we lose out, too fast and we mess up and I think many of us understand this.
Here we were at the beach in the western province of South Africa and the Egret decided to put on a show for us.
Let's have a look!

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He came flying in neatly and majestically!

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The amazing thing is that the birds know when the tide starts to become high tide and they gather to eat!
Timing is important as the full high tide is too rough to eat, so they land in a period when it is still relatively calm between the tide changes from low tide to high tide!

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I thought that the following 3 photos of the Egret striding towards the surf were so beautiful.
You can see the lovely yellow feet of this guy!

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And then of course it was time for action, as he stepped boldly into the shallows!
I don't know if he can swim, as he does not have webbed feet, but obviously this did not worry him!

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Here he struck with his spear beak into the water!

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I thought that he would spear the fish like the kingfishers, but not this guy, as he is fast enough to catch them in his beak!

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Same procedure, as he searched in the swell of the breaking small waves!

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Bang! Another success!

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And another fish!

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And so he carried on for a while, filling his stomach.

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This was the last photo that I took of the Egret with a fish, as something else happened!

A great surprise!

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Look what dived kamikaze style into the water behind the Egret bird!

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But the bird that dived in missed as he came up empty. No fish. Maybe his timing was out!

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It was a tern and you can see one hovering here above the waves. Very fast birds the Terns and I call them Jets of the ocean.
Maybe I will do a full story post about the Terns sometime?

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Finally, here we were approaching home after our visit to the beach.

In all things there is a time to wait and a time to act and more haste can mean less speed. We have seen the Tern above come up empty, even though he is much faster than the Egret. Timing especially in the arena of investments plays a critical role, as due to the fluctuating of the share prices one has to know when to buy, sell, or hold. Fortunes have been made and fortunes have been lost.
Emotions can also play a devastating role in timing and it is essential to stay cool and calm in all situations.

"Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast" William Shakespeare

But in our lives timing is also equally important. The "if only" I did this or that regrets are in abundance and times are also many times to blame. Excuses like; "It was not the right time" and "If only I knew then what I know now" sound familiar? Well, it all has to do with timing and action.
Would you want to remain in your current situation, or would you do something at the right time to improve your situation?

Are you going to sit on the sidelines and wait before you join #steemit?

Join today and start to pave your way to a better life!

We hope that you have enjoyed the pictures and thank you for visiting a post by @papilloncharity

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78 comments
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Curious Bird, very intelligent. Beautiful subject 🙂
!DERANGED
!trdo

Posted using Partiko Android

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You are a star my friend!
Blessings and thank you for your kindness!

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You just received DERANGED @papilloncharity Keep up the great work. Congrats, you have been gifted 1 DerangedCoin. You can redeem 20 of them for an upvote from the deranged.coin account. Redeem your tokens by sending to deranged.coin through Steem Engine with your post URL in the memo field, view all your tokens at steem-engine.com

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Very cool and nice photos. You could have entered the same contest I joined today with one of those.

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Thank you Sir and what is the name or the link to the contest, as I can always edit the post to submit it?
Blessings!

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Sure, look into my post from today. The link is right at the beginning.

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Thank you. I looked and supported your post and will consider an entry tomorrow!
That is if our forced power cuts allows me to.
Blessings!

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Some beautiful pictures. Capturing the bird on film while he is munching, very cool.
Spectacular last photo.

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Thank you for the kind visit and the nice comment my friend.
I am glad that you appreciated the post!
Blessings and hope that your weekend is good!

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This post was shared in the Curation Collective Discord community for curators, and upvoted and resteemed by the @c-squared community account.
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Long time no see and glad that you are back.
Your support is appreciated!
Blessings!

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nice shots, I love where the bird is hunting, with a fish.

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Patience is definitely a virtue @papilloncharity! Fabulous pictures of the lovely birds. I never tire of them, so facinating. Fun to watch :) Lovely wisdom for the day, thank you friend! Blessings!

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They say that time will work out everything Mrs. Bird.
I also love to watch and to learn from the birds and their tricks.
Trying to inspire some souls on twitter to join steemit.
Blessings and thank you!

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Awesome shots and WOW 8 out of ten strikes that is really impressive

Cheers and !BEER

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Oh yeah JJ, this guy really knows what he is doing.
He knows where to find the fish and the terns also know as there were many of them.
Thank you for the token and may you guys have a great Sunday.
Blessings!

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Whenever I spend time outdoors observing how Mother Nature has thought of everything, I smile. I smile because it seems a joke to think of the human's supremacy as a specie. How do animals and insects know about seasons changing? How do birds fly all the way down South without a GPS? These questions keep me entertained. Nice post. Loved the photos!

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So true my friend and there are many secrets tat mother nature holds in her bosom.
I have timed some birds that fly over our place every day and within a few minutes, they fly over at the same time every day. Maybe they have learned to check the time on the big clocks in the church towers hahaha.
Glad that you liked the post and the photos my friend.
Blessings!

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wow this is really good number only 2 miss in 10 strikes. this is the god gift to this bird. nice photographs.

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Thank you and his timing is indeed spot on my friend.
Glad that you liked the photos!
Blessings!

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Congratulations @papilloncharity! This post has been featured in today's Power House Creatives curation post!

You can find the community announcement on Discord :) and it has also been shared on our FB Page and Twitter feed.

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Again with the "more beautiful than our" birds? :) I'm always so surprised by each different SA bird I see in your and others' posts here on steemit.

But that last photo, with the clouds hugging the mountains - breathtaking!

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Graceful black and white bird, such speed finding food when tide changes, we don't see these too often along our stretch of coast, excellent photography Stephen.

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Nature is wise, I have seen documentaries where animals surprise me incredibly. Excellent photography

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It's amazing what we learn to read each of your posts. How close I feel to nature and how you reflect in your writings, the experience you live and manage to transmit it to your readers. In my case, it happens like this.

It is a pleasure to read your publications and I wish you all the strength you need to enjoy your well-deserved successes.
A big hug in the distance

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I think we have that bird here in our country but of a different species. Every December hundreds of them migrate to hectares of fish pond for Tilapia fish. It was a beautiful sight unfortunately they covered all the pond now with soil for commercialization. I no longer see the birds in December.

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That snap you took of that kamikaze bird made it look like he completely faceplanted! Too bad he came up empty-beaked. That other egret sure had some good luck though! What a flock star! HAHAHAHA!

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Hahaha, they certainly land with a big splash my friend.
Will definitely not win any diving competitions Lol
The Egret is a great master of the art of fishing.
Blessings and thank you!

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Beautiful captures of the bird Sir Stephen. What a great fisherman he is. I really like the ones of the egret striding across the water...looks like he means business.

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That guy certainly knows what he is doing Lady Jo.
He just has that magic look about him and that's what caught my eye.
Blessings and thank you!

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Amazing pictures, @papilloncharity! And I love the life lesson you've entwined into your pictures. It's so true - in fishing as in photography as in investing. And of course Steem. I think there is no better time than the present for jumping onto this train.

I love egrets. What gorgeous birds. I've seen them almost wherever I've traveled in the world. I guess I tend to go where there are waterways.

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Thank you Lady Jayna and I am glad that you agree with my post.
Egrets are indeed interesting birds and it was a first for me seeing one fishing in the sea.
Such elegance about them and they make it look so easy.
Blessings and thank you!

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They really are so majestic. We have many many lakes here. (In fact Minnesota is known as the Land of 10,000 Lakes.) It’s common to see one — a splash of white against the greens and browns of nature in the lakes and ponds where I go trail walking.

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Sounds magnificent my friend.
Certainly wonderful photo opportunities with so many lakes around.
If I were to stay there, no one will ever find me Lol
Blessings!

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Such a beautiful bird! Great pictures. The ones with the fish in the beak are impessive.
Nature can certainly teach us life lessons

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Thank you my friend.
That Egret is indeed a great fisherman.
If only we would learn from nature.
Blessings!

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Wow amazing photos - good camera, compared to a smart phone lol. Lovely to see the mountains of the Southern suburbs at the end there, my old home.

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Thank you Sir and great that I could bring you some cherished memories!
Blessings!

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You really can shoot the birds @papilloncharity 😁

!trdo

Posted using Partiko Android

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Thank you Bruni and I see now that you are older your comments have become wiser hahaha. Only joking here so please don't go out now to choke the poor cat in anger.
Blessings to you guys!

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(Edited)

I enjoyed reading the post. Great lessons, philosophy and pictures. Cheers! !trdo

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Love your bird pictures! The egret is such a pretty bird and such wonderful shots - good life lesson too!
Thanks for sharing!

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Thank you my dear friend.
I also have a lot of time for the egrets.
Glad that you appreciated the photos.
Blessings!

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You truly have mastered the art of aviary photography, Sir Stephen! My favorite in this collection of images are the ones with the birds' reflections!

All the best to you today! @papilloncharity💫

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Ah! The magic eye of Lady Nina as I tried my best to get the reflections, but it was difficult in the backwash of the rough tide.
Blessings and thank you my friend!❤️

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Hello @papilloncharity!
This is a great post!! We really appreciate your work and efforts.


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Howdy sir papilloncharity! wow, those guys are excellent at fishing! Tremendous photos as always sir!

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Greetings Sir @janton, yes, the best looking fishermen/fisherbirds in their actions. Cool calm and collected.
Glad that you liked the photos my friend.
Blessings!

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