Ascending. At Arizona’s Lake Pleasant, northwest of Phoenix, this great egret was taking advantage of rising water levels to hunt for fresh fish in some newly created shallows. It was just taking flight to try a new spot when I was fortunate to capture this photo (note the splash in the lower fight corner where its feet had just left the water). This was probably a stopover during its migration to the northern USA or Canada to spend the summer months.

Image ©2021 James D. Peterson

Tech info: Nikon D850 camera with Tamron 150-600mm lens at 380mm, 1/2000 sec. at f11, ISO 1800.