Reddish Egret
Egretta rufescens
Content and photos by James Giroux
The Reddish Egret is the least common of all the North American Egrets. Plume hunters in the late 1800’s nearly wiped out the species in North America, and 130 years later, it is still recovering. The bird nearly vanished In Florida, and it was unreported from 1927-1937. In 1996, the Florida population was thought to be about 10% of the pre-1880 population. Recent estimates suggest that there are only about 1200 breeding pairs in North America with Texas having about 900-950 pairs, and Florida having most of the rest – 250-300 pairs.
Galveston, September – non-breeding
Despite those low numbers, this bird is not terribly difficult to find on the Texas coast. You can find it at most of the eBird hot spot areas that are at the water’s edge. Bolivar Flats and Galveston’s East Beach are great places to find and observe it. And if you do find the bird, you will want to observe it, because the Reddish Egret puts on a great show. It is one of the most fun birds to watch, as it hunts for fish in shallow tidal pools. It hops, pivots, flaps and darts through the water trying to catch fish, and its movements often look like a crazy dance. Most of the other egrets hold very still, and wait for prey to come to them. The Reddish Egret usually chases down their prey. Try to imagine the difficulty and skill required to catch a fast-swimming fish with your mouth!
There are two Reddish Egret morphs, a dark and a light. All the photos above show the dark morph, which is more prevalent in North America. The farther south you go – down into Mexico and South America – the white morph becomes more prevalent. Where they mix, there appears to be no preference for a mate of the same color morph.
White Morph: Photo by Darren Clark
Note the bi-colored bill in the photo above and the photo below. Full adults have this bi-colored pattern, and as the breeding season gets nearer, the colors intensify, with the base of the bill eventually turning bright pink.
Dark Morph: Galveston, March
Nesting sites are usually chosen by the male, although if a pair gets together late in the season, the two will often walk through a nesting colony – called rookeries – and choose a site together. Like most herons, Reddish Egrets (and yes, egrets are a type of heron) prefer to raise their young in a rookery. This provides safety from predators, because the birds can mob an intruder and drive it away. Nests are constructed in a variety of locations and the height can range from the ground to 35 feet high in a tree. If available a Prickly Pear Cactus is preferred over other nearby plants. Imagine the skill necessary to build a nest in a cactus without injuring yourself!
Given that this is a purely coastal bird, and that it generally does not migrate, you would never expect one to show up in the interior. But over the years there have been a number of sightings in the Austin area. Just a few weeks ago there was one in the Georgetown area – and it was a white morph! So, the lesson there is to get outside and go birding. You never know what you might find.
Sources:
Cornell Labs – Birds of the World
