The Great Egret is a tall, elegant, all-white heron that stalks the shallows with slow, deliberate steps, then strikes with a lightning thrust of its dagger-like yellow bill. Standing more than three feet tall with black legs and a long, sinuous neck, it is one of the most graceful birds in any Michigan wetland. In the breeding season it grows long, gauzy plumes across the back — the very feathers that, sought for women's hats, nearly drove the species to extinction in the late 1800s and helped launch the modern bird-conservation movement.
Great Egrets fish patiently in marshes, flooded fields, and along lake and pond edges, spearing fish, frogs, and large insects. They nest in colonies, often with herons, on wooded islands and in swamps, and Michigan's breeding population is concentrated in the southern part of the state. Numbers swell in late summer as post-breeding birds wander north before the whole population withdraws south for winter.
A patient sight-hunter of the shallows, standing still or wading slowly before spearing fish, frogs, aquatic insects, crayfish, and small reptiles with a rapid thrust of the bill. It hunts in open water and flooded vegetation, sometimes in loose association with other wading birds.
The Great Egret is much larger, with a yellow bill and all-black legs and feet. The smaller Snowy Egret has a black bill and black legs with bright yellow feet — the so-called "golden slippers."
Their long breeding plumes were prized for fashionable hats, and plume hunters devastated colonies in the late 1800s. The outcry over this slaughter helped spark the founding of Audubon societies and early bird-protection laws.
In marshes, flooded fields, and along lake and pond edges, mostly in the southern part of the state, from spring through fall. Numbers peak in summer and during post-breeding dispersal.
Very little — juveniles are the same white with a yellow bill and black legs, just without the long back plumes. The bright green facial skin and trailing aigrettes are breeding-season features on adults only.
A rookery, or more precisely a heronry. Great Egrets nest colonially in flooded timber alongside herons and cormorants, and Michigan's colonies are traditional sites used for decades.
Other birds you might be looking at instead.
Pick the park — it takes less than ten seconds.
Start typing the bird's name, then pick it from the list.
Suggest a birding spot to add to the map. I'll review it before it appears.
Thanks! Your suggestion has been sent for review.
Found something wrong or out of date? Tell me what to fix — it goes straight to my inbox. (No email needed.)
Thank you — your note is on its way. I appreciate the help keeping this accurate.