great egret

Ardea alba

Description:

spotted at Smith Oak Rookery in High Island, TX . egret is in breeding plumage. Great Egrets are tall, long-legged wading birds with long, S-curved necks and long, dagger-like bills. In flight, the long neck is tucked in and the legs extend far beyond the tip of the short tail. Great Egrets wade in shallow water (both fresh and salt) to hunt fish, frogs, and other small aquatic animals. They typically stand still and watch for unsuspecting prey to pass by. Then, with startling speed, the egrets strike with a jab of their long neck and bill.

Habitat:

both freshwater and saltwater

Species ID Suggestions

119 Comments (1–25)

SusanEllison 11 years ago

thanks Harsha

Harsha Singh 11 years ago

Brilliant shot! Congrats Susan.

SusanEllison 11 years ago

thanks LandmarkExpert!

Caleb Steindel 11 years ago

congrats on SOTD

SusanEllison 11 years ago

thanks Laura for your lovely comments!

LauraMaria 11 years ago

Just stunning, Susan. The egret looks so majestic! What a fantastic photo.

SusanEllison 11 years ago

thanks Jukubko for your nice comments

SusanEllison 11 years ago

thanks cchellis22 for the nice comments

cchellis22 11 years ago

She's absolutely stunning with her plumage!

Jacob Gorneau 11 years ago

Stunning! Congratulations on Spotting of the Day, Susan!

Fyn Kynd 11 years ago

Awesome spotting! Congratulations Susan!

SusanEllison 11 years ago

thanks Phillip Chen for the nice compliments

SusanEllison 11 years ago

thanks Fly Fisher...me too...we have lots of them in Texas too

SusanEllison 11 years ago

thanks cranbrook

SusanEllison 11 years ago

thanks outsidegirl0

SusanEllison 11 years ago

thanks Antonio for the nice compliments

SusanEllison 11 years ago

thanks Jennifer

JenniferRoge 11 years ago

Lovely

AntónioGinjaGinja 11 years ago

Awesome capture Susan,just gorgeous almost "impossible" :-) photo,congrats on another SOTD and thanks for sharing such an amazing spotting page,very good work :-)