To observe the elegant Great Egret in their wetland habitats is an amazing sight. Seeming to float through the sky, these large birds with their expansive wingspans fly slowly but powerfully; with just two wingbeats per second, they cruise at about 25 miles an hour. In the 19th century, when billowy feathers for ladies hats were in vogue, the Great Egret was hunted to near extinction. Consequently, this spurred the first conservation laws to protect birds. In fact, Audubon was originally founded to protect birds from being killed for their feathers. The Great Egret is the symbol of the National Audubon Society, one of the oldest environmental organizations in North America. “Great Egrets at Twilight” was completed in Spadecaller’s Florida Studio on 6/29/2023. This hand-painted image is a digital composite that includes elements from ‘Twilight in the Tropics,’ (1874) a painting by Frederik Edwin Church.