The elegant Great Egret is a dazzling sight in many a North American wetland. Slightly smaller and more svelte than a Great Blue Heron, these are still large birds with impressive wingspans. They hunt in classic heron fashion, standing immobile or wading through wetlands to capture fish with a deadly jab of their yellow bill. Great Egrets were hunted nearly to extinction for their plumes in the late nineteenth century, sparking conservation movements and some of the first laws to protect birds.
"The Great Egret's summer vagrant migration in Tazewell County usually begins the latter part of July. 'Vagrant Migration' refers to the northward movement of birds that were reared in the south (Gulf Coast in this case) of the current year. They are normally the young that were forced to find new feeding grounds. They will continue to move northward if the newly found food source will not support the numbers. As the temperatures drop, the return southward migration to the Gulf will begin (normally in October for Tazewell County)."
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| October 20, 2014 in North Tazewell (Clinch River) |
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| Burkes Garden on July 22, 2015 |
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| Burkes Garden on July 22, 2015 |
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