Lone Egret Chose To Stay, Or ….. .

"Take the Time" from Youtube.com

Lone Egret Chose To Stay, Or ….. .

The other day, while having one of our early spring outings to enjoy
the “mustard season” in the valley, we happened to spot a lone Great
Egret strolling in the open grassy field near a vineyard. It is not
common to see an egret around in the area at this time of year. This
lone egret had either likely chosen to stay in the area while its family
and friends had migrated to the south before the winter, or it could
simply be one of those “early birds” that had already returned from
their winter migration. We watched its every step and followed its
whereabouts. I was amazed by its hunting techniques and strategies
with its stately, quiet and slow moving style, the slight outward
rotation of its eyes while searching for prey, and its sudden swift
stabbing motion when it found its prey. The easily retracted and
extended S-curved neck of the Great Egret helps accomplish its prey-
capture task.



The Great Egret, also known as Great White Egret, is a cosmopolitan
species with world-wide distribution. In North America, it is more
widely distributed across the sun-belt states in the United States.
The great Egret is a large white bird with long-legs, a heavy yellow
bill, and blackish legs and feet. It is a beautiful bird. "Great Egret in
flight" was chosen as the logo of the National Audubon Society,
symbol of the conservation movement.


(From Birdcentral.net)

I have been particularly fascinated by the egret due to the fact that
I had the opportunity to see its little cousin, the Snowy Egret, every
year, from spring through fall, on our hospital campus for the past 30
years. Every spring, they return to their “place of birth” and breeding
grounds after their winter migration in the south. They are said to be
“seasonally monogamous", uniting with the same mates if "available".
They find their breeding nests in many of the mature Oak trees on
our hospital grounds. The nesting colony on our hospital campus,
where the valley river runs by, had been chosen for one of the Egret’s
research and monitor projects by the San Francisco Bay National
Wildlife Refuge.

Unfortunately, their droppings on the sidewalks and their croaking
noises during the mating season created quite a public nuisance.


Yeh Tze