Well, don't really know how good of a guardian are they... but they'll have to do. Since the theme for this week's SMAP is free, I'll place in the spotlight these beauties that stood in Nile's margin, watching the boats go by.
Grey herons are widespread, and easily stand out given its characteristic plummage with white, black and grey (of course!) and their huge size.
I lost count of how many I've seen in a small strech of the Nile river, during a boat tour. Most of them were perched along the trees in the margin; in this area, there were also small rocky islets with sparse vegetation, and yes, you guessed it: they were there too!
I can imagine these locations were better for hunting, although most of the ones I've seen were just soaking on the sun, while chit-chatting with the also ever-present cormorants.
Preening the feathers was also a common behaviour; the upper heron may have overdone her preening a bit too much... either that or someone was having a really bad hair(feather) day!
By far, the ones at the margin were the ones I enjoyed getting on camera the most. The green of the trees and the heron's colours had a nice contrast with the sandy slopes nearby. Just too bad I coulnd' get any closer, but still, the birdwatching and mini photography session were a great add-on to the boat tour!
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