Snowy White Heron

[ChrisK]

While out fishing with Slowpoke a couple of weeks ago I noticed this white egret type bird in the rapids doing a little bit of his own fishing. I snapped a couple of pics with the dig cam and hoped for the best. When I got home I did some looking around on the internet and discovered that this bird was actually a Snowy White Heron. Extremely rare for these parts of Ontario...What a treat !!

 

 

Cheers !!

[Spiel]

....Snowy white heron you say, never heard of such a critter. Great looking bird though and I've learned something today, guess I can coast from here till tomorrow.

[Deano]

That's really odd, cause I was out yesterday and saw a Bald Eagle flying around here. Starting to see many different species that were never here before.

Cool looking bird. We have Sand Hill cranes now in the hundreds.

[ChrisK]

Hey Speil,

I never new they existed either but it seems this is a Heron colour morph of some kind,perhaps an albino strain. All the googles I did came up Snowy Whit Egret but this obviously is no egret.

 

Deano,

In the very same spot on the river I have witnessed an Osprey diving down into the rapids and nailing small fish of some kind. It was actually the same day I got the pic of this Heron.

[007]

Muskiestudd,

 

I have consulted my Birds of Ontario book and what you have photgraphed is most definitely a Great Egret. It is larger than the Snowy Egret and is about the size of a Great Blue heron. The give away is the slightly green patch of skin between eye and beak. They are pretty uncommon as they venture into part of Southern Ontario only in Summer. I actually saw one just like it at the Toronto Islands this summer.

 

Pretty rare find and good shot.

 

007

[ChrisK]

Muskiestudd,

 

I have consulted my Birds of Ontario book and what you have photgraphed is most definitely a Great Egret. It is larger than the Snowy Egret and is about the size of a Great Blue heron. The give away is the slightly green patch of skin between eye and beak. They are pretty uncommon as they venture into part of Southern Ontario only in Summer. I actually saw one just like it at the Toronto Islands this summer.

 

Pretty rare find and good shot.

 

007

007,

I googled the Great Egret up and shure enough the desciption and picture of the bird on the web is bang on to this bird in the picture. Good work !!!!!

 

Cheers !!!

[DMASSE]

Hello

 

Yeasterday I saw the same bird feeding on the humber south of the tennis courts

 

 

Cool

[singingdog]

Yep, that's a Great Egret. The easy give-away is the leg colour: a Wurdemans Great Blue (a colour morph of a Great Blue Heron, but not an albino) would have yellow/green legs. Great Egrets have dark legs. "Snowy White Heron" may be a local name, but there is not a North American Bird that has been given that name.