The Story
I photographed this Great Egret (Ardea alba) from the Ferry Marcopolo on the Orteguaza River at Puerto Arango, near Florencia, Caquetá, Colombia, in February 2020. It is also known as the Common Egret, Large Egret or Great White Egret. It has been spreading north in Europe, first breeding in Sweden in 2012, Denmark in 2014 and Finland in 2018. In the Americas it is sometimes confused with the Great White Heron of the Caribbean, a white form of the Great Blue Heron. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I used a Pentax K-1 with the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 for this one, at 1/800 sec, f/7.1, ISO 1600, −1.3 EV. The Ferry Marcopolo leaves from Puerto Arango, about 15 kilometers from Florencia, on a two-hour trip on the Orteguaza River, passing the mouth of the Hacha River and stopping at a sandbar for lunch.
©2021 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Great Egret (Ardea alba) belongs to the family Ardeidae (Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2025), with the population trend listed as stable. Source: IUCN Red List