Egrets and herons are wading birds with long necks and straight pointed bills, which they use to capture prey. When flying the neck is usually folded in an S. Several kinds may be seen on the ponds in the Skiatook area, including great blue heron, great egret, snowy egret, little blue heron, cattle egret, green heron, black-crowned night heron and yellow-crowned night heron. We have seen all of them at our place except the yellow-crowned night heron. The great blue heron is the only one present year-round. The others are here only during the warmer summer months.
The Great Egret
The great egret is the large white “heron” we see on our ponds in summer. It’s an elegant bird, and is in the area only during the breeding season. Egrets are really a type of heron. What makes them different is that egrets are smaller, tend to be paler and have darker legs than herons. Herons are mostly blue and gray, and their legs and beaks are pale. Egrets are usually white with black legs. The great egret has a long yellow bill.
Egrets hunt the edges of ponds and wetlands by standing still in the water or by wading slowly through it. In flight the bird has slow, powerful wingbeats. The very long neck is tucked back against its shoulders and the legs trail behind.
Egrets were hunted nearly to extinction for their plumage in the late 19th century. Several summers ago, Becky and I found an injured one at our pond. Its wing was broken and couldn’t fly. Being careful to avoid its dagger-like bill, we placed a towel over the head to keep it calm, wrapped another one around its body and took it to Wild Heart Ranch, a rehab center near Claremore.
The Great Blue Heron
The great blue heron is our largest and most widespread heron and is the only heron present year-round. It is the heron we see most often on our ponds, streams, wetlands and even pastures and tilled land.
The heron is four feet tall, has a long neck which is pulled in when flying, and has long legs that extend straight back in flight. It is blue-gray overall and has a white face and a dark crown. The heron has a long daggerlike bill that it uses to capture prey, which includes fish, frogs, small mammals, insects and others. In flight, the dark flight feathers contrast with the paler wing feathers. The flight is graceful, with slow deep wingbeats. While searching for prey at the water’s edge, the heron walks slowly, taking long deliberate steps as it searches for food.
Herons and egrets nest in large colonies called rookeries. The nests are placed in the tops of large trees, ones that are usually dead. Herons work together to monitor predators such hawks and owls from above and raccoons from below. The heron’s voice is a deep, harsh croak.
The Green Heron
The green heron is a small dark heron. It is compact and has short yellow legs. It has a blue-green back and reddish-brown neck and chest. Unlike communal nesting egrets and herons, it is a solitary nester. The nest of sticks in usually placed on a branch over water. A pair of green herons have nested on our pond during the summer.
Many years ago, while camping in Florida on Key Marathon, a green heron would visit our campsite for bits of food. It would take the food to the water, drop it and wait for little fish to swim in for the food, then spear one for its own meal. Clever bird!
