Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)

Snowy Egret
Egretta thula

The *Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)* breeds across much of the United States. It can be very common at many coastal areas as well as fresh-water marshes and swamps at many inland locations. It is a small white egret with dark legs and "yellow slippers" in most plumages. The breeding plumaged bird shown here was photographed in April, 1999, at High Island, Galveston Co., Texas, with a Canon EOS 1N and EF 300mm F/2.8 L lens and 2X extender on Fuji Sensia.
The next two shots were taken at Anahuac N.W.R., Chambers Co., Texas, in March, 2001, with a Canon EOS 3 and EF 600mm F/4 L lens on Fuji Velvia.

The shot of the breeding plumaged Snowy Egret walking through the grass was a digital shot in Port Bolivar, Galveston Co., Texas, in March, 2004, with a Canon EOS 10D and EF 600mm F/4 L IS lens and 1.4X extender.
The shot at right shows some Snowy Egrets at a pond with blooming water lilies in Kenedy Co., Texas, in June, 2000. The shot was taken with a Canon EOS 3 and EF 600mm F/4 L lens and 1.4X extender on Fuji Velvia.
This image shows some Snowy Egrets in flight at Ouray N.W.R., Uintah Co., Utah, in June, 2001.
The next set of five images shown here were taken at Ding Darling N.W.R., on Sanibel Island, Lee Co., Florida, in November, 2006. Several herons and egrets had discovered a number of fish in a deep pool of water. The water was just too deep for the egrets to wade in and hunt the fish as they usually do, so the birds improvised. I watched as several species, including this Snowy Egret, flew back and forth over the pool and plunged their head and bill into the water in order to catch a fish without getting their feet wet! It was fun to watch. These shots were taken with a Canon EOS 1D Mark II and EF 500mm F/4 L IS lens.




The Snowy Egret shown here was at Austin, Travis Co., Texas, in August, 2009. This shot was taken with a Canon EOS 50D and an EF 800mm F/5.6 L IS lens.
The Snowy Egret shown here was in Galveston, Galveston Co., Texas, in November, 2009. The egret was shaking one foot under water, apparently in an attempt to stir up food items or perhaps to make a small fish move. This behavior is sometimes observed in this species.
Snowy Egret Egretta thula foraging by shaking one foot in water East Beach, Galveston, Galveston Co., Texas 2 November 2009
Snowy Egret Egretta thula Ding Darling N.W.R., Lee Co., Florida 22 January 2013
Snowy Egret Egretta thula Ding Darling N.W.R., Lee Co., Florida 22 January 2013
Snowy Egret Egretta thula Ding Darling N.W.R., Lee Co., Florida 22 January 2013
Snowy Egret Egretta thula Ding Darling N.W.R., Lee Co., Florida 22 January 2013
Snowy Egret Egretta thula Ding Darling N.W.R., Lee Co., Florida 22 January 2013
Snowy Egret Egretta thula Ding Darling N.W.R., Lee Co., Florida 22 January 2013
Snowy Egret Egretta thula High Island, Galveston Co., Texas 21 May 2013
Snowy Egret Egretta thula Pine Island Sound, Ft. Myers, Lee Co., Florida 14 July 2014
Snowy Egret Egretta thula Anahuac N.W.R., Chambers Co., Texas 21 September 2015
Snowy Egret Egretta thula Sabine Pass, Jefferson Co., Texas 2 October 2016
Snowy Egret Egretta thula Brazos Bend State Park, Fort Bend Co., Texas 13 January 2017
Snowy Egret Egretta thula Lake Ella Park, Tallahassee, Leon Co., Florida 21 February 2017
Snowy Egret Egretta thula Sabine Pass, Jefferson Co., Texas 4 March 2018
Snowy Egret Egretta thula Sabine Pass, Jefferson Co., Texas 4 March 2018
Snowy Egret Egretta thula High Island, Galveston Co., Texas 23 April 2018