Bird of the Week: Great Egret

Species: Great Egret, Ardea alba

Family: Ardeidae

Sign: Capricorn 

Favorite hobby: Playing freeze tag

Dear reader,

Great egrets are perhaps the most striking bird that you will see in a watery environment. They are a bit smaller than their relative, the great blue heron, and are entirely white except for their yellow beaks and eyes. Breeding adult great egrets develop snowy display plumes on their backs called aigrettes, which they use in courtship displays, and a patch of skin on their faces turns bright neon green. Like other egrets, they can be found in marine, brackish, and freshwater wetlands. They hunt near rivers, lakes, reservoirs, marshes, and estuaries. Great egrets are drawn to water, especially with trees and shrubbery surrounding it. According to the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Department, they are most often present from April to November in Oregon, during their breeding season. There is a resident great egret in the Canyon that I encounter on occasion, one time while it was wading in the same area as a great blue heron. They have similar hunting techniques: careful wading or just standing completely still and snatching up prey as they swim by. Great egrets’ diets mostly consist of small fish and water bugs, but can also range into amphibians, reptiles, birds, small mammals, crayfish, and shrimp. 

During the late nineteenth century, great egrets were nearly hunted to extinction for their beautiful aigrettes, which were incredibly popular in the millinery industry for use in adorned hats. Hunters would target colonies in the spring and shoot hundreds of birds a day, with the nestlings left to perish. After 1910, when plume-hunting was all but entirely banned, the populations recovered quickly. Today, great egrets are classified as of ‘low concern’. Their successful comeback was celebrated, and they are now the symbol for the National Audubon Society, one of the oldest environmental organizations in the U.S. However, great egrets are not necessarily peaceful birds. Aggression among nestlings is particularly common, and it is not unusual for the largest chick to kill their smaller siblings. This is also a tendency among hawks, owls, and herons, and is more frequent when there are poor breeding conditions during the year. 

The best place at Reed to see the current resident great egret is in the Canyon, particularly near the island where the water is shallower. They are hard to miss amidst the dark brush. Great egrets are perhaps the most elegant in flight, with their enormous wings beating only twice per second but propelling them at a usual cruising speed of 25 miles per hour. If you happen to encounter these ghostly fowl, take off your hat (especially if it’s feathered!) and meet them with a particular reverence for their persistence after near-extinction, a fate not shared by every species.