Great egret and cypress in Florida, USA

This video from the USA says about itself:

4 August 2016

A Great Egret hunting and a large Cypress Knee – two iconic symbols of the Florida Everglades. Both were in danger of extinction. The Egret is protected everywhere and protected cypress swamps like this one in Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park protect old growth cypress trees.

Technical note: One of the challenges of filming a large pure white bird in a dark swamp is the “white balance” setting on the camera – average white balance is not working as you’ll notice early in the video. There is really no way to fix overexposed white in post-processing.

The elegant Great Egret is a dazzling sight in many a North American wetland. Slightly smaller and more svelte than a Great Blue Heron, these are still large birds with impressive wingspans. They hunt in classic heron fashion, standing immobile or wading through wetlands to capture fish with a deadly jab of their yellow bill. Great Egrets were hunted nearly to extinction for their plumes in the late nineteenth century, sparking conservation movements and some of the first laws to protect birds.

A cypress knee is a term used in the biology of trees to describe the distinctive structures forming above the roots of a cypress tree of any of various species of the subfamily Taxodioideae. Their function is unknown, but they are generally seen on trees growing in swamps. Some scientists have thought they may help in oxygenation to the tree’s roots or assist in anchoring the tree in the soft, muddy soil.