The Egret

The pond is great stopping point for migrating birds. There aren't too many birds on the pond today though. Ellie thought that most of the birds have either already migrated or haven't started migrating yet.

Looking off across the pond, we saw what appeared to be a Great Egret or a Great White Heron (a form of a great blue heron). We consulted our bird book but still could not figure it out. The only difference between the two birds is the color of the legs, and we can't see the legs clearly because the bird is standing in the water. Both species have been seen in the area, so it's hard to be sure.

Again, we asked a guide who was passing by with a school group if he knew which it was. He was fairly certain that it was an egret. He also said that there had been about 50 of them on the water the previous week. Too bad we missed that! It must have been quite a sight.

One of the cool things about the egret was the manner in which it hunts. Our bird book called it "still hunting". The bird would stand quietly for several minutes and then... BAM! Stab at the water with its beak. Again, we couldn't tell if the bird was successful, but it was still neat to see.

FOOTNOTE:
A birdwatcher who viewed this page (thanks Richard B. from NY!) sent me this comment: "The Great White Heron is a form of the Great Blue Heron and is usually only found in the Florida Keys and some other parts of Southern Florida - possibly some of the other Gulf States. The bird in your center is almost definitely the Great Egret."