OK, I ran back out hoping to see this bird fly into Polk County but I
missed that, shucks. But maybe Brandon W. or Mike & Karen Lippsmeyer can
get it on their yard lists -- unless it decided to drop into E.E. Wilson
Wildlife Area but when last seen, it looked like it was gaining
elevation for a longer glide.
This bird was spotted by Martha (age 17) as it flew north over E.E.
Wilson Wildlife Area, right across the highway from our place. She came
in and asked me what kind of bird would look like that.
I was working on the field notes here and didn't see the bird go by, but
went out in the driveway in my socks (dang, guess I missed a shot at
another good "barefoot birding" too). We thought it was gone but then
Martha spotted it about 1/4 mile to the north and I picked up in it as
it circled on a thermal.
At first I thought it was a really chunky big gull since it looked
pretty buoyant when it flapped its wings, but once I got on it with the
bins, I could see that it was an egret. It seemed interesting that it
just kept going round and round, higher and higher on the thermal, well
above the height of Coffin Butte in the background.
I've never seen a Great Egret do that so I kept watching. Also Martha
didn't really believe my suggestion that it was a Great Egret, since
she's seen a bunch of those.
The neck bulge was less visible than typical for Great Egret, and it
seemed like the feet were trailing less far behind than normal for a
Great Egret. I noted black legs and black feet (was thinking about Snowy
Egret as a possibility). The bill was yellow and overall the bird seemed
too short from head to toe.
We came back inside and after quickly flipping through the heron/egret
pages, I realized that everything that I saw matched up with Cattle
Egret (have seen them in the past in South Dakota, but it's been a long
while). Martha (who saw the bird fly by with naked eye from about 50
yards) took a look and agreed that the shape looked right, also the
impression of gray under the leading edge of the wing.
So, a pretty good yard bird, hope someone else spots it.
Happy birding,
Joel
--
Joel Geier
Camp Adair area north of Corvallis
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