End of winter, start of spring

This egret is in a tree because it was getting away from me. I was sneaking up on it, wading through the water but I wasn't stealthy enough. It escaped to the other side of the pond, only to be harassed by a noisy miner.

The main shows the egret defending itself. The extra shows the egret and the noisy miner seconds later. It's the time for birds to nest and look after their chicks. Winter's over.

Thanks for hosting Steveng.

I've enjoyed hosting mono Monday for the last two weeks with optional themes on portraiture. This week there were more than four pages of entries, among them many truly excellent ones. Several blippers mentioned being brought out of their comfort zone, about which I'm pleased. 

While I found deciding a difficult task, the results of MM453, in no particular order, are as follows:

Hearts


Skeena - self portrait with split light
Suejay50 - portrait of Simon, edge lit
Fitzbilly - Rembrandt lighting
Mambo - self portrait showing determination
WalkingMarj - her mother, face and hands

Honourable mentions

Ingeborg - self portrait with subtle shadow effects
Trisharooni - neighbour, emphasis on eyes
Crispin25 - self portrait, pensive
MaggiePye - intimate self portrait
Incredibish - self portrait with high drama
Jensphotos - self portrait, focus on face and shadows