Limited conservation dollars are, by necessity, directed at those species deemed to be at greater risk. The federal Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) has documented a significant average annual increase of 1.91% per year from 1966 to 2015, increasing even higher to 3.40% per year from 2005 to 2015 (Figure 5). Should this effort be discontinued, a small-scale monitoring program for the state’s largest mixed-species colonies would provide a valuable index for monitoring these important sentinels of our wetland communities, including the most striking waterbird of all, the Great Egret. Although the MNBBA documented colonies where Great Egrets were nesting, only a few observers noted the size of the colonies. Whatâs in a Name? Breeding evidence was reported in less than 1% (24) of the surveyed blocks. MNBBA participants reported 815 Great Egret records in 10.2% (483/4,744) of the atlas blocks that were surveyed and in 11.8% (276/2,337) of the priority blocks. The Minnesota Breeding Bird Atlas Website was a collaborative project led by Audubon Minnesota and the University of Minnesota, Natural Resources Research Institute. The Great Egret is the symbol for the National Audubon Society. The nest is a platform of sticks, twigs, and stems in a tree or tall shrub over water. Size: 37 – 41 inches tall, wingspan 51 – 57 inches. The Great Egret’s dramatic population decline in the late 1800s and rather spectacular recovery are well documented. Henderson, Carroll L. 1984. Great Egrets return each year to nest in a few trees in one of our secluded parks. Location: pond next to the Colonial Church, Edina. 2017). It would take the birth of a national conservation movement to bring plume hunting to an end, and nearly 25 years of recovery, before the Great Egret returned once again to Minnesota. Roberts (1932) quoted the following from Cooke and Widman’s 1883 book on bird migration in the Mississippi valley regarding the Great Egret: “The greatest wanderers are the young which in the fall often stray northward into regions where the species is not known to breed.”. Range-wide, population numbers are thought to have plummeted nearly 95%. * Eastern Great Egret is sometimes treated as a separate species, Ardea modesta. Final report to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Natural Heritage and Nongame Research Program. Location: SW edge of Birch Lake, White Bear Lake, MN. It was hanging around a creek in rural Norman Co. Mn. Green, Janet C., and Robert B. Janssen. The first reports of observations were in August of 1937 at several locations: the Bass Ponds in Hennepin County, near a wetland in Fairmont in Martin County, and at Lake Shetek in Murray County (Rysgaard 1937). They hunt in classic heron fashion, standing immobile or wading through wetlands to capture fish … Golf Course. Common, especially in the south, it may wander far to the north in late summer. Reports from several northern counties were noted in later years, including Carlton County in 1960 (Gullion 1961), Clearwater County in 1968 (Marshall 1969), and Cook County in 1986 (Webb 1986). 2 vols. 2007. Published accounts also were compiled. Egrets are great wanderers, and both snowy and white egrets have nested as far north as Manitoba. The Minnesota Breeding Bird Atlas Website was a collaborative project led by Audubon Minnesota and the University of Minnesota, Natural Resources Research Institute. “Heron Island – General Shields Lake.”. Legs are blue-gray. Males are larger than females. The MNBBA data shows that the Great Egret had a nearly identical distribution during the atlas as it did in the 1980s. A year-round resident to medium-distance migrant; the distance travelled south by northern populations may vary from year to year. Frogs, lizards, snakes, crayfish, fish, mice, birds, aquatic and other insects. Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com. One study along the Mississippi River reported an average foraging distance of 8.4 km; a study at the Peltier colony in Anoka reported an average foraging distance of 13.5 km (Thompson 1978; Custer and Galli 2002). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Although biologists tend to think of the Great Blue Heron as the most abundant colonial waterbird in Minnesota, at the continental scale the Great Egret is believed to outnumber the Great Blue Heron by more than 2:1. 1937. Unfortunately, interest in monitoring colonial waterbird populations has waned in many regions, including Minnesota, despite efforts to propose cost-effective and efficient monitoring approaches (Green 1985; McKearnan 1997). Paul on the eastern border of Minnesota along the St. Croix River, extending 25 miles north from Stillwater to Taylor’s Falls this IBA is home to two great blue heron colonies, with a combined total of 534 nests, 11 pairs of bald eagles, red-shouldered hawks, Louisiana waterthrushes, and Prothonotary warblers. Great Egret perched in a tree above the marsh in The Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge. Note the characteristic sideways neck- and head-bobbing (triangulation) behavior prior to catching a prey. Minneapolis: Harrison & Smith Printers. Colonies are more abundant further south, and the number of egrets in each colony is considerably larger than found in the Upper Midwest (McCrimmon et al. The Great Egret was an uncommon species during the Minnesota Breeding Bird Atlas (MNBBA). Protection from predators also is important, so islands and remote wetlands are preferred (Figure 4). 2017. 2011). Adams, A. Michael, James Bunn, Bruce S. Davis, Ann L. Jones, and L. W. Odne. In the central United States, the great egret can be found from Minnesota south to the Mississippi Valley and along the Gulf coast. Yet many of these sites are in backwater sloughs that are difficult to observe and access. Based on a phylogenomic study published in 2008, the family was transferred to the order Pelecaniformes. April 27, 2018. Assigned a Continental Concern Score of 7/20 by Partners in Flight and designated a species Not Currently at Risk by the North American Waterbird Conservation Plan. 2017). The MNBBA does provide a reasonable dataset to compare with the compilation prepared by Guertin and Pfannmuller in 1985 to assess changes that may have occurred in the intervening years. Range Great EgretThe great egret's breeding range on the Pacific Coast stretches from Oregon to western Mexico. This solitary egret was filmed on September 24, 2008 by SUzanne Fredericq. Unfortunately no systematic survey of waterbird colonies along the river is regularly conducted, so their current status in this region is unknown. Attach a video, a YouTube link, or a cloud storage link. The great egret balanced on one leg while cleaning his feathers. Indeed, more than one hundred years ago, biologists already recognized that juvenile egrets had a propensity to disperse northward once they fledged, with peak numbers often observed during the months of August and September (McCrimmon et al. Seldom seen one in this area. They live about 15 years. Golf Course. “Feeding Areas of Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets Nesting within the Floodplain of the Upper Mississippi River.”, Tvrdik, Genevieve M. 1966. For the past two days, one egret has been moving twigs in a tree overlooking the pond. Nearly wiped out in the United States in the late 1800s, when its plumes were sought for use in fashion, the Great Egret made a comeback after early conservationists put a stop to the slaughter and protected its colonies; as a result, this bird became the symbol of the National … This button not working for you? Location: Bassett Creek Park, Crystal, MN, Location: Lebanon Hills Regional Park, Eagan MN, Location: Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge.