Tag Archives: great egret flight

Field Notes, Out There with the Expert, The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

A Great Egret at Lake Mattamuskeet, n.C.

By: Sally Siko- Admin Birdwatching NC

The majestic Great Egret is a beautiful sight to see in our North Carolina waterways.
I found this one last weekend taking off from next to a small canal at Lake Landing at Lake Mattamuskeet in Englehard, N.C.



They are a bit smaller and more lithe then Great Blue Herons, yet these are still big birds with large wingspans.
They are expert hunters of frogs and fish, standing very still until the moment they strike.
A lightning quick thrust of their sharp yellow bill is all that’s needed to land a meal and then their prey is swallowed whole.


These majestic birds were nearly hunted to extinction due to the demand of their beautiful white breeding plumes in the late 1900s.
A now familiar icon of the Audubon Society, public awareness of this species rapid decline was the flash point which sparked the fist bird conservation movements in the United States.
Today, Great Egrets are thriving and are happily found searching for food throughout much of the U.S.

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatchingnc
Canon 5Ds

Field Notes

How far do great Egrets fly

A Great Egret at Jordan Lake in Apex, N.C.
This majestic symbol of the National Audubon Society is recognizable by a slow flight, often cruising with their necks retracted.
This one was gliding over Jordan Lake last week as I was out searching for Eagles.
🌿
A few years ago, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences partnered with public schools to capture 8 Great Egrets and attach GPS tags.
Some stayed in here North Carolina; others traveled quite a distance way.
Data showed one female traveled from Lake Mattamuskeet, in Hyde County, to New York City in a single night. She eventually settled in Massachusetts, where she bred and then headed south to Cuba.
Pretty amazing!

Photo by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc
Canon 5DS