I have observed egrets for decades. I have seen them hunting in saltwater marshes, freshwater wetlands as well as in the shallows of ponds and streams. To my surprise I saw a snowy egret wading in the ocean waves lapping the shore where it ate small fish caught in the surf at Cocoa Beach in Florida. I have never seen egrets in the Atlantic surf on Long Island where I grew up nor have I seen these birds in the waves on the rocky beaches of the Island’s north shore.

Yes, many people will probably tell me how they see egrets on the beach all the time. But I have learned over the decades that you can never be too old or too experienced to see behaviors that are new to you. And this is what makes nature so exciting and continues to beckon me to see new things in retirement.