White Ibis

(Same bird as in the two shots at right) This might have been the most cooperative ibis in the universe; I trailed him/her closely for the better part of an hour as the sun sank lower and lower into the western sky behind me! The water was about 6-8 inches deep, and I was able to achieve this exaggerated fore- and background blur by flopping onto my belly and shooting right across water's surface. The pictured prey is some sort of worm or eel. In full disclosure, I did pee my pants during this extended encounter. I wasn't about to stand up and scare the bird away given this amazing light!

South Padre Island, Cameron County, Texas, 11/12/21
Canon 600mm f/4 IS + 1.4x III on EOS R5
1/4000 at f/5.6, ISO 800