Great egrets are a rare visitor to northeastern Pennsylvania, although they do sometimes appear, often following a coastal storm that drives a wayward individual inland for a few days. Their discovery usually creates a small hubbub among birders and wildlife photographers eager to see something out of the ordinary. Ordinary is relative, however, and as you move nearer the coast, and to the south, egrets become a common sight.
They are certainly regulars around Chincoteage island, and in the canals alongside the beach road seeing at least one egret is almost a sure thing. The canals are also an excellent setting in which to photograph the egrets, who more often seem to favor the far side, presumably feeling more secure with the body of water between them, and their admirers.
The canals are not wide, a few meters at most, and there are any number of fallen trees and limbs that jut into the water, providing perches from which the egrets can hunt for fish. Throughout the day, some portion of the canals always seems to have good lighting, and I’ve yet to return from a visit without a few egret photos.
In the photos above, there are two species of egret; the first two photos show a great egret, with a yellow bill and black feet. The second two photos show a snowy egret, differentiated by its black bill, and yellow feet. It’s an amusing quirk of classification that opposite coloration defines the species, but that’s how it is.