Wild Things: Great egret (Ardea alba)
The Great egret is a large heron, standing over 3 feet tall and with a wingspan of nearly 6 feet. It is a bit smaller than the familiar Great blue heron. The distinction between herons and egrets is rather vague; both are placed in the taxonomical family Ardeidae. There are some 64 species of herons which include about nine species commonly referred to as egrets. The distinctive features of egrets are usually a white body and the showy plume feathers appearing in the breeding season. The white body and wings are offset by black legs and feet and a yellow bill. Males and females are similar in appearance. As with all herons, the long neck is folded back against the body in flight, unlike cranes which fly with the neck extended straight out in front. The Great egret is a widespread species, occurring in North America, much of South America, Africa, and across northern Europe.
Great egrets forage by walking slowly through shallow water or marshy vegetation, spotting small fish, as well as amphibians and aquatic invertebrates, all of which they capture with a sudden thrust of the beak. They are adept at capturing a fish or crayfish in its midsection and flipping it around with the beak so that it can be swallowed more easily. They also forage in fields for insects and even small rodents or snakes that they can snatch off the ground, sometimes foraging in close proximity to grazing cattle in order to glean insects flying up as the cattle move about while grazing.
Great egrets breed along the coastal states in the southeastern U.S. up through North Carolina, and extending up into east Texas, throughout Louisiana and Mississippi and up the Mississippi valley as far as southern Illinois. Winters are spent along the coastal states bordering the Gulf of Mexico, coastal California, and into Mexico and Central America. They may be seen in New Mexico any time of year along the southern extent of the Rio Grande.
Great egrets are colonial breeders, nesting in trees near lakes or other wetlands. The stick nest is placed well off the ground, from 10-40 feet up in trees, and is large, up to three feet in diameter, as would be expected for such a large bird. Both males and females incubate the half dozen eggs and both also feed the nestlings by regurgitation.
The plume feathers of Great egrets in the breeding season are very showy and beautiful and the birds were hunted extensively in the late 1800s, with the feathers used to decorate hats. The U.S. population was decimated until conservation actions were taken to stop exploitation by the commercial trade. The population has recovered but now faces declines due to habitat losses from conversion of wetlands to other uses. Groundwater extraction for agriculture and invasion of wetlands by exotic plants has also reduced habitat for egrets.
Nevertheless, the Audubon Society considers the U.S. population of Great egrets to be stable at this time and expects some gains in suitable wetland habitat area as the climate continues to warm.
Photos and videos (viewable online) were taken by James Taulman at the Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge with a Nikon P900 camera.