Snowy Egrets: Graceful Wetlands Inhabitants

It’s the month of the Pikes Peak Birding and Nature Festival, and this year’s art features a stunning Snowy Egret – and that got us thinking about these amazing wetland birds and our Bird of the Month pick! With their striking white plumage, slender form, and distinctive yellow feet, black bills, and yellow faces, snowy egrets (Egretta thula) are a sight to behold in wetland habitats across the Americas. These elegant wading birds are not only admired for their beauty but also valued for their important ecological roles and fascinating behaviors.

Snowy egrets are typically found in coastal marshes, estuaries, and other shallow-water habitats where they forage for fish, crustaceans, amphibians, and insects. They can be found in both salt and freshwater habitats. With their long, slender bills and patient stalking behavior, they deftly capture prey in the water or on mudflats, often employing a technique known as "foot stirring" to flush out hidden prey.

During the breeding season, snowy egrets don striking breeding plumage, featuring delicate plumes known as "aigrettes" on their heads, necks, and backs. These breeding displays, combined with elaborate courtship rituals, serve to attract mates and establish breeding territories.

Snowy egrets are colonial nesters, often nesting in mixed-species colonies with other herons, egrets, and ibises. They are also known to mate with other Heron species and create hybrid offspring. They construct their nests from sticks, reeds, and other vegetation, typically in trees or shrubs near water bodies. Mated pairs take turns incubating the eggs and caring for the young chicks. They typically lay 2-6 greenish blue eggs which hatch after about three weeks.

Since hunting them for their plumage stopped in 1910, Snowy Egret populations have rebounded and they are now found in a larger range than before. Now they are a species of least concern with stable population numbers since the late 60’s, a rare feat for most bird species! However wetlands are constantly under threat, so habitat loss could quickly become a threat for Snowy Egrets.

The oldest known Snowy Egret was at least 17 – first banded here in Colorado and later found again in Mexico!