Tag Archives: Great Egret

Birds

Great Egrets At Nest

April 22, 2017 Ellen Jennings 2 Comments

I featured this Great Egret nest as the pair was starting to build. They had made some progress about 10 days later.

Great Egrets Nesting – Click photo for larger view

Look between the Great Egrets’ legs for a peek at one of the Great Blue Heron chicks in his nest.

The Great Egret pair showing some affection in between grooming activities,

From a different angle you can see how close together these nests are. On this day there was one Great Blue Heron nest, three Great Egret nests and one Anhinga nest. The Anhinga nest has since either failed or was raided and is no longer there.

Photos taken 4/10/2017, Charleston, SC.

Birds, Wading Birds

Great Egrets in Flight

April 21, 2017 Ellen Jennings 4 Comments

On a recent trip to the rookery one some work was being done near a nesting area to remove some debris before the birds start their nests. A few Great Egrets treated us to an aerial show as they shifted around while work was in progress.

Great Egret in Flight – Click photo for larger view

The flights provided a variety of shooting opportunities, with various wing poses and backgrounds as the circled around to return to their spots.

Great Egret in Flight – Click photo for larger view

Coming in for a landing with a squawk:

I am amazed by the ability of these huge birds to navigate through branches.

A beautiful blue sky with fluffy clouds completes a classic flying shot.

Photographed 4/10/2017, Charleston, SC.

Birds, Wading Birds

Neighbors

April 10, 2017 Ellen Jennings 4 Comments

Two pairs of Great Egrets are nesting condo style, their homes less than two feet apart separated only by a small branch. This is a prized location, surrounded by water for extra safety from ground predators, so there was competition for the nest sites.

Their nests claimed, each pair went about its business this sunny afternoon.

The ritual is very similar to what I have observed with the Great Blue Heron pairs: bring sticks, re-arrange sticks, mate, bring sticks.

Squawking from the other nest is mostly ignored, a lot like humans living in close proximity.

Birds, Wading Birds

A Modest Start: Great Egrets Nest Building

April 1, 2017 Ellen Jennings 9 Comments

The spot this Great Egret pair have chosen doesn’t look like much despite a lot of activity bringing and re-arranging sticks.

They have a ways to go before this will hold an egg. This may be why some Great Egrets will aggressively steal nests from other birds.

They spend a lot of time posturing and pushing. Other pairs that I have observed appear to be about the same size but the male of this couple is considerably larger, and pushier.

Every stick that comes to the site gets moved two or three times.

Time out for a few words then a quick trip for another stick.

These photographs were taken in the late morning with the sun behind the Great Egrets. This provided nice light through the wings but leaves their heads in shadow. Once again out in the pond would be the ideal place to stand.

Click on any photo for larger view.

Birds

Great Egret Posing

March 21, 2017 Ellen Jennings 2 Comments

Ignoring the flurry of mating and nesting activity in the pond behind him this Great Egret enjoyed the afternoon sun on his own. His long feather plumes of breeding season are neatly tucked in but he can’t hide that neon green face patch.

Great Egret posing on branch, click to enlarge

Lichen and moss add a little interest to early spring photographs before the trees have leafed out.

Birds

Great Egrets Waiting on Nest

March 18, 2017 Ellen Jennings 10 Comments

You can just barely see the turquoise colored egg between this Great Egret pair’s feet, under the neck of the bird on the right.

All they can do now is wait. He did bring a few more sticks for the female to poke around before she laid back down.

I’ll be checking back regularly looking for chicks.

Click image for larger view.

Birds, Wading Birds

Great Egrets in Low Light

March 13, 2017 Ellen Jennings 8 Comments

A group of about twenty Great Egrets have taken over an area of the Audubon Swamp recently cleared of invasive cattails and other weeds. Some have started nests and others are still concentrating on their flirting skills.

I got to this spot about a half hour before sundown when there wasn’t quite enough light for sharp shots at this distance. The favored trees where most of the Great Egret mating dance activity was going on are facing the other side of the open water with no human access points.

A few of the Egrets did stop and pose in clearer areas, before they looped around again to impress potential mates.

Click on any photo for larger view.

Magnolia Plantation Audubon Swamp, 3/4/2017.

Birds, Wading Birds

Great Egrets Nest Building

March 10, 2017 Ellen Jennings 6 Comments

With less than an hour until the sun went down this Great Egret male stepped up his efforts to bring sticks to the nest.

He selected sticks of all sizes and on some trips took quite awhile to pick them out.

The female may already be sitting on eggs: she didn’t stand up when he got to the nest. She happily accepted the sticks he brought, rearranging each one multiple times.

He flew to several points around the pond in his efforts, providing me with multiple angles for photographs.

Click on any photo for larger view.

Great Egret, Magnolia Plantation Audubon Swamp, 3/4/2017.

Birds, Wading Birds

Great Egret Stick Gathering

March 5, 2017 Ellen Jennings 6 Comments

Selection of the sticks to add to the nest is important business. This Great Egret selected and discarded a few before being satisfied.

A short trip back to the nest.

This was repeated several times with sticks selected from several points around the pond.

The female took each contribution and added it to the nest.

Magnolia Plantation Audubon Swamp Rookery, 3/3/2017.

Birds, Wading Birds

Great Egret Treetop Landing

February 15, 2017 Ellen Jennings 2 Comments

The spindly looking branches didn’t look like they would hold this Great Egret.

But at only about 2 pounds according to The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the egret stuck the landing very easily.

A few flaps of his wings and balance from the tail and he was set. The breeding plumage adds to the show but doesn’t have much substance to add to flight negotiations.

About ten minutes later he was still there, grooming as the light faded just before sundown.