The Story
I photographed this Great Egret (Ardea alba) at the Charca de Guarinocito, near La Dorada, Caldas, Colombia, in October 2020. Also called the Common Egret or Great White Egret, it stands up to a meter tall, with a wingspan of 131 to 170 centimeters. It flies slowly with its neck drawn in, as herons and bitterns do. It nests in trees, in colonies close to water, and it shares its habitat with many similar species in many parts of the world. 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 1/800 sec, f/7.1, ISO 400. People living around the lagoon see the birds as an attraction for visitors and do not allow them to be hunted.
©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