Great egret

Latin Egretta alba
Estonian Hõbehaigur

Also known as: no known names

Status in Estonia

Summer visitor, breeding bird, occasional winterer.

Description

The great egret is a large, all-white heron. The legs and beak are yellowish and the legs extend well beyond the tip of the tail when in flight. The majority of the beak is black during the breeding season.

Size

Body length 85–100 cm, wingspan 143–169 cm, body mass 700–1500 g.

Similar species

Little egret, grey heron.

Distribution

It is widely distributed throughout the world, including: North and South America, Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe, with a higher concentration in Central and Southeastern Europe. The great egret is a breeding bird that is becoming more frequent in Estonia.

Population

Estonia has 100–300 breeding pairs. The number has increased dramatically in recent years.

Occurrence in Estonia

The first great egrets usually appear in early April. Most commonly they are seen in August and September before the last birds leave in October. Very few stay for the winter.

Diet

It feeds primarily on fish, amphibians, insects and their larvae. It frequently also eats grasshoppers, small animals and reptiles. If food is scarce, it often raids the nests of perching birds.

Habitat

It prefers to live in clear and open landscape with no forest but plenty of water bodies and reed thickets. It frequently forms colonies within its species and with other herons. It chooses a practically inaccessible location to build a nest. It looks for food cultural landscapes as well.

Nesting

The great egret creates a simple and not very durable nest on a tree or bulrush or in reeds thickets. The nest is usually located near or just above the body of water. The female bird lays 1–6 eggs, but generally three. Incubation begins after the first egg is laid. Both parents incubate for an average of 25 days. Both parents also take care of the chicks. The chicks begin exploring the nest tree at a few weeks old, but frequently either fall down or become prey to predators. Chicks learn to fly at the age of 6–7 weeks.

Conservation status and protection

Not under protection.

Distribution and population in Lääne County

The great egret is now a common migratory bird and an uncommon breeding bird in Lääne County. This Southern heron is a recent newcomer in the bogs of Lääne County, having only become common in the early twenty-first century. Now the great egret outnumbers its close relative, the grey heron, in many regions.
Great egrets can sometimes be found in Matsalu and Haapsalu bays even in flocks of several hundred birds. They’re good to observe from the Haeska birdwatching tower, the parking area at Põgari-Sassi beach meadow, and Sutlepa Sea and Tahu Bay observation towers in Noarootsi. Their breeding colony is also found in the reed beds of the Sutlepa Sea and birds also breed in the grey heron colony near the Laikmaa museum.