close up photo of a great egret

‘Graceful’, ‘stately’, tall and lanky’, are a few words used to describe the Great Egret. These striking all-white aquatic birds are most recognizable for their curved neck, which has three bends in it, as well as for their long, yellow bill, which is its primary tool for hunting fish, amphibians and insects that live along the shorelines of quiet lakes and rivers.

When the Great Egret flies, it does so slowly, almost languidly with its long neck retracted, which is typical of herons and bitterns and is one way of differentiating them from similar species such as storks, cranes, ibises and spoonbills. Upon landing it walks with its neck fully extended, and wings held close to its body.

Great Egrets congregate in colonies sometimes for feeding, and more often during breeding periods. But they also enjoy their ‘alone time,’ where they wander as solitary seekers of food in open areas along marshes, ponds, lagoons and rivers. Nesting takes place near water, but a few feet off the ground in thickets of shrubs and trees.

Depending on their territory, the diet of the Great Egret can extend from aquatic wildlife such as fish and amphibians to small reptiles (including snakes) crayfish and insects.

They feed during the day and can be quite territorial and aggressive if other egrets – or other species for that matter – come close to where they are attempting to spear their prey. In more temperate areas of North America, breeding happens in the late spring or early summer, whereas in tropical zones, it depends on the rain cycle.

photo of a great egret in the water

Male Great Egrets choose the nesting space and begin construction of the nest (or they start repairing a previously used nest, which sometimes happens – a form of natural recycling). Both parents take turns incubating anywhere from one to six pale blue eggs, which hatch in under a little less than a month. Babies start to get feathers after just seven days and are almost completely feathered by three weeks. Shortly thereafter, they leave the nest and become solitary like their parents withing two months.

While the species is common around southern Ontario and Quebec, it’s quite populous throughout the continental United States, especially in the Sun Belt, although in some parts of the south, numbers have declined because of wetland degradation and encroachment of humans through increased development. Those colonies that originate in Canada or the northern U.S. are the only ones that really migrate south in the colder weather.

A fashion trend nearly caused the extinction of the graceful and majestic Great Egret. When hats were all the rage, particularly in the Victorian and Edwardian era (1840s through to the 1910s) the long, luscious feathers, dubbed by the French ‘aigrettes’ developed during the breeding season of these majestic avians became as in demand as Lululemon leggings are today. This meant many millions of birds lost their lives for the sake of haute couture.

Interestingly it was the near extinction of the Great Egret that led to its conservation and restoration to the healthy numbers it now has. By the late 1890s, outrage was building, leading to the creation of the Massachusetts Audubon Society, who pressured the state government to ban the bird feather trade. Other Audubon societies quickly followed, leading to the creation of the still-vibrant and impactful National Audubon Society – which adopted the Great Egret as its official emblem.

Fortunately, conservation efforts have worked, and the Great Egret flourished throughout North America, including within the Cataraqui Region. Visitors to several properties owned and managed by Cataraqui Conservation will most likely have seen them gliding through the skies or wading through the waters searching for food – particularly at Little Cataraqui Creek Conservation Area.

photo of a great egret
  • Sources: Heron Conservation, Wikipedia, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Audubon Society, National Geographic