A great white egret takes flight at a nature area in Longmont, Colorado.

Photo by Kort Duce A great white egret takes flight at a nature area in Longmont, Colorado. In this horizontal color photograph, an egret fills the frame in left profile as it takes flight from a pond. Its wings are raised high, with the left wing extending beyond the frame after it sprang into the air just moments before. The background is softly blurred cattails reflected in the pond below. A beautiful bird-in-flight portrait of a great white egret in the natural wetland habitat so vital to its survival.