The snowy egret is a medium-sized white heron with a slender black bill and distinctive yellow feet. It visits the Chesapeake Bay’s marshes, wetlands and shallow waters from spring through autumn.
Appearance:
White body
Slender black bill
Black legs and yellow feet
Long, feathery plumes on the head, neck and breast during breeding season
Grows to 27 inches with a wingspan of 41 inches
Habitat:
Lives in tidal marshes and wetlands, as well as ponds and mud flats
Range:
Visits the Chesapeake Bay region in mid-spring
Leaves in autumn to winter in the Carolinas and southward
Feeding:
Eats mostly fish and crustaceans, but will also feed on frogs, snakes, worms and insects
Scurries around the water as it hunts. This is much more active than other herons and egrets, which stand still and silently stalk their prey.
Uses its feet to stir up mud under water, then stabs its bill into the water to find prey
Often forages in groups with other aquatic birds
Predators:
Owls, hawks, raccoons and poisonous snakes prey upon snowy egrets and their young
Flight:
In flight, holds its head back and its neck in a tight curve
Flies with rapid wingbeats
Often flies in flocks when returning to roosting areas in the evening
Voice:
Call is a low croak
During breeding season, may make a woola-woola-woola sound
Reproduction and Life Cycle:
Nests and breeds in colonies (called rookeries) with other herons, egrets and ibises. Rookeries are found on Bay islands such as Poplar, Tangier and Fisherman.
Nests in low shrubs or trees near the water
Males perform courtship rituals such as vocalizations and flight displays to attract a mate. Once they find a mate, the female builds a nest made out of woven sticks and twigs.
Females lay 3-6 pale, greenish-blue eggs, which hatch in approximately 24 days
Chicks usually fledge two weeks after hatching
Can live as long as 17 years
Other Facts:
One of three white herons that visit the Chesapeake Bay region. The other two are the great egret and the cattle egret.
