cattle egret | Best Life Birding- Birdwatching Tours

By Sally Siko

One of the nice things about birding is that there’s always the potential to be surprised and delighted by unexpected finds while on the road.
In this case, I got lucky and spotted a flock of cattle regrets while driving home from Huntington Beach State Park across the South Carolina/North Carolina border.

As soon as I saw them, I stopped in the road and then backed up to park on the grassy shoulder alongside the field.
*That’s a charitable way of saying that I ripped it off the road and almost backed up into a 4 foot deep ditch lol!
Never mind the fact my car was resting on three wheels now.
This was a problem for future me though, there were birds to see!
Btw, my car’s all-wheel-drive made it a snap to get out of that ditch easily…
This is why I own a @subaru_usa , right?
Lol!

My timing was nearly perfect until another car pulled up and stopped, (presumably to look at the cows) and scared the birds, causing them to scatter.
Happily, I was able to snap off a few shots of these beautiful birds before the entire flock took off across the road.

Cattle Egrets are a summertime resident of the Tarheel State but are a rare sight during the winter and even more so here in central North Carolina.
They breed in colonies on our barrier islands and inland in our southeastern counties on lakes and river that are in close proximity to agricultural fields.
As their name suggests they may be found feeding in the pastures looking for insects kicked up by herds of cattle.
Look for them in North and South Carolina’s southeastern coastal counties from mid March- early November.

Photos by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding on my beloved full frame 50MP beast, the mighty @canonusa #5Ds

One of the nice things about birding is that there’s always the potential to be surprised and delighted by unexpected finds in the field.
In this case, a Cattle Egret has shown up in the Raleigh NC area and seems to have made itself right at home with a herd of cows on Mid Pines Rd.

At first, the cow didn’t seem to mind its feathered companion but when the bovine stood up, the Egret hopped off and then proceeded to chase the hapless cow around the pasture.
For its part, the cow was unamused by the birds antics lol! It lowered its head and snorted at the Egret every time it approached leaving the bird to forage in grass for itself.

Cattle Egrets are a summertime resident of the Tarheel State but are a rare sight during the winter and even more so here in central North Carolina.
They breed in colonies on our barrier islands and inland in our southeastern counties on lakes and river that are in close proximity to agricultural fields.
As their name suggests they may be found feeding in the pastures looking for insects kicked up by herds of cattle.
Look for them in North Carolina’s southeastern coastal counties from mid March- early November or take a drive on Mid Pines Rd in Raleigh this weekend 🙂

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on my magnificent megapixel monster, the mighty @canonusa #5Ds