Cattle Egret in breeding plumage
A year round resident in our state and a widespread range elsewhere
Cattle Egrets are native to Africa but reached across the ocean reaching northeastern South America in 1877. They continued to spread, arriving in the U.S. in 1941 and nesting there by 1953.
In the next 50 years they became one of the most abundant on the North American herons, showing up as far north as Alaska and Newfoundland.
They have a broad and flexible diet that occasionally even includes other birds. In the Dry Tortugas, migrating Cattle Egrets often hunt migrating warblers.
They follow large animals or farm machines and eat invertebrates stirred up from the ground.
Preening
They will fly toward smoke from long distances away, to catch insects fleeing the fire.
Reddish Egret
According to Ann Paul, Audubon Guru, "based on the relatively faded pinkishness of its bill, and the darkening near the base of its bill near the eyes, it is what we term the "raccoon stage", suggesting that it has hatched chicks in the nest."
Once it landed it disappeared back into the mangroves so we did not see the nest or chicks.
Our home from the water side
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