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 measures 80 to 104 centimeters long, with a wingspan of 131 to 170 centimeters, and weighs about a kilogram on average. It flies slowly with its neck drawn in, like other herons, unlike storks, ibises and spoonbills, which fly with their necks stretched out. In the Americas it shares its habitat with the smaller Snowy Egret. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/1000 sec, f/7.1, ISO 1600, −1.3 EV. From the Marco Polo ferry, on a two-hour trip along the Orteguaza River, passengers see the Hacha River flow into the Orteguaza and watch for birds.
©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