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I crossed paths with this Great Egret at Shem Creek in Mount Pleasant, SC.
 
This bird is pure elegance on the shoreline. They are tall, snowy white, and impossibly poised as they stalk through marshes, ponds, and tidal creeks. They hunt with a calm and deliberate patience - taking slow steps and striking fast for fish, frogs, and crustaceans with their long spear-like bill. In the bright sunlight, their yellow bill and black legs pop against glowing white plumage. In breeding season, delicate lacey plumes appear - once a target of the feather trade. Whether standing like a statue or lifting off with those wide, steady wingbeats, the Great Egret has a way of making any watery landscape feel instantly more dramatic. The Great Egret's recovery is a major conservation success story. Protections born from the plume-hunting era helped inspire modern bird conservation and organizations like the Audubon movement.