The Story
I photographed this Great Egret (Ardea alba) at Gatorland in Orlando, Florida, United States, in November 2020, with its white feathers and golden eyes. 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 pulled in, as herons do, while storks, cranes, ibises and spoonbills fly with their necks stretched out. It nests in trees, in colonies close to water. 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 1/3200 sec, f/8, ISO 400. Boardwalks through the breeding marsh let visitors see nesting birds up close without disturbing them, and a three-story tower looks out over the rookery.
©2024 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