Snowy egret, highlight of Harpswell hike

Recently, I was scrolling through the many photos I’ve taken during my summer outdoor adventures for the BDN, and I realized there are a lot of images I haven’t shared. Often, some neat wildlife photos get left out of my blog, especially if the clarity of the photos aren’t spot on (which often happens when you’re shooting wildlife).

So here are a few photos (some not so sharp) of a snowy egret I came upon while participating in the Harpswell Hiking Challenge with my sister in early June. The egret was wading in the water offshore from the beach of Houghton Graves Park, a 3-acre park on Orr’s Island (reachable by car).

I’ll be posting more overlooked or misplaced wildlife photos in the near future.

To offer some information about the snowy egret, I’ll turn to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology at www.allaboutbirds.org. The snowy egret is a small white heron that is often found in marshes, small ponds and along the ocean shore, which is where I found it in Harpswell, wading in the shallows in a cove. It has black legs and yellow feet (which you can see in some of the photos). It eats fish and nests in trees. Though it looks like quite a large bird, standing so tall, the average adult snowy egret weighs less than a pound (13.1 ounces). Its wing span is about 39.4 inches long, according to the Cornell lab, and it has a long thin neck that’s perfect for striking down at fish with their long, sharp bill.

If you’d like to share wildlife or outdoor photos, scroll to the bottom of the BDN Outdoors homepage to upload your photos.

 

Aislinn Sarnacki

About Aislinn Sarnacki

Aislinn is a Bangor Daily News reporter for the Outdoors pages, focusing on outdoor recreation and Maine wildlife. Visit her main blog at actoutwithaislinn.bangordailynews.com.