Great Egret

I saw my first Great Egret of the year a few days ago.  Unlike the larger Great Blue Heron, egrets leave our area during the winter, flying closer to the coast where unfrozen water is easier to find.  The Susquehanna Valley is by far the best place in Pennsylvania to see Great Egrets.  They are more abundant along the Susquehanna River than in any other part of the state.  Watch for them between mid-March and early November.

Egrets are long-legged, long-necked predators that hunt in shallow waters of wetlands, ponds, streams, and along the edges of rivers.  Egrets will eat almost any animal they can find.  They eat more fish than anything else, but they reguarly eat crustaceans, insects, amphibians, snakes, and turtles.  Egrets have even been seen eating small mammals and birds.

Although they’re large birds, standing 37 to 41 inches tall, Great Egrets are noticeably smaller than their large cousin, the Great Blue Heron.  Some Great Blue Herons can be over 50 inches tall.  What I find remarkable is how lightweight these large birds are.  They’re more than half my height (I’m 5’9″), but a Great Egret weighs barely more than two pounds!  Birds are surprisingly lightweight due to their hollow bones and a series of air sacs within their bodies.  The air sacs also help absorb extra oxygen to support their fast metabolism.

Great Egrets are cosmopolitan, nesting on all continents but Antarctica.  However, that may change in the future.  There are enough differences between four subspecies of the Great Egret that it could be split into two or more species in coming years.  If a split occurs, our Great Egrets could be renamed as Western Great Egrets or American Egrets.