The Great Egret is a tall, long-legged white feathered bird with long black legs, a long s-curved neck and a yellowish-orange bill. They live in fresh water and salt water in marshes, ponds, mudflats, lakes and rivers in wooded areas. They mostly eat fish but will eat salamanders, snakes, frogs, rodents, grasshoppers, and small birds.

In the 1800’s the population declined because of plume hunters. Conservationists stopped the slaughter. The Great Egret became the symbol of the National Audubon Society (http://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/great-egret).

In Ohio the Great Egret is a bird of concern. They only nest in the West Basin of Lake Erie on the West Sister Island NWR and Turning Point Island http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/species-and-habitats/species-guide-index/birds/great-egret.

For more information https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Egret/id and https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Egret/lifehistory.

Photos of the Great Egret