IBRC #17-B-10

IDAHO BIRD RECORDS COMMITTEE
RARE BIRD REPORT FORM

SPECIES: Snowy Egret
HOW MANY: 1 adult

REPORTER: Darren Clark 114 Elm Avenue Rexburg, ID 83440 208 356-0026
REPORTER EMAIL: clarkd@byui.edu
OTHER OBSERVERS: Cliff Weisse Steve Butterworth
DATE REPORT PREPARED: 1/31/2010
DATE SIGHTING OCCURRED: 1/29/2010, 2010

LOCALITY OF OBSERVATION: Hagerman WMA, near Hagerman, ID
HABITAT: Roosting in a Russian Olive next to a pond
CONDITIONS: The bird was there for the entire 1.5 hours we birded the refuge. We watched the bird for 3-5 minutes. We couldn't get really close because of the barrier of the pond. We were probably as close as 130 feet. The lighting conditions were good. It was partly sunny / hazy. There was a light breeze and the temperture was probably 35 degrees f. The bird was loosely identified using 8x32 Nikon Venturer binoculars. It was confirmed with Nikon and Swarovski spotting scopes.

DID YOU TAKE NOTES?: No, not at all
DID YOU CONSULT FIELD GUIDE OR OTHER REFERENCES?: No, not at all
WHAT GUIDE(S) OR REFERENCE(S) DID YOU CONSULT?:

DESCRIPTION: The bird was heron/egret shaped and appeared all white from a distance. It had a long neck (although it was tucked) and long legs. It's plumage was entirely white. It had black legs and yellow feet, which could easily be seen through the scope. It also had yellow lores and a black bill. It was noticeably smaller than a nearby Great Blue Heron.
BEHAVIOR: It remained perched the entire time we saw it.

HOW AND WHEN DID YOU POSITIVELY IDENTIFY THE BIRD, AND WHAT CLINCHED THE IDENTIFICATION FOR YOU? As soon as we could see it was an all white bird with black legs, yellow feet, yellow lores, and a black bill we knew it was a Snowy Egret.
HOW DID YOU ELIMINATE SIMILAR SPECIES, AND WHAT WERE THEY? Great Egret (the expected white egret in winter) has a yellow bill and black feet. Young Little Blue Heron is an all white bird but it's legs and lores are dullish gray. Cattle Egret has yellow legs and a yellow bill. Reddish Egret has black legs and a pink and black bill.
EXPERIENCE WITH THIS SPECIES (AND SIMILAR SPECIES): I've seen thousands of Snow Egrets in Idaho, Utah, Floriday, and Louisiana. I've also seen many other individuals of all of the other similar species.
GENERAL BIRDING EXPERIENCE: I've been birding for 18 years. I'm a good birder and a good observer.

WERE PHOTO(S), VIDEO, AND/OR AUDIO OBTAINED BY YOU?: Photo

Photos taken on 29 January 2010 by Darren Clark using a Canon 7D with a canon 400mm f/5.6 lens.
The photos were cropped and resized by the webmaster.  To view original files click and image.