Great Egrets
Great egrets (Ardea alba) are majestic shorebirds. I saw my first great egret in Central Park, but since then I’ve been able to watch them at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Queens, at the Marine Park Saltmarsh Preserve and Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, and on Staten Island (various sites there), and on Long Island at the Lido Beach Passive Nature Area. When they are in breeding plumage, the incredibly deep green around their eyes sets them apart from lesser beings. Scroll down for a video of a great egret on Turtle Pond.
This bird at Inwood Hill Park put the “great” into great egret on April 3, 2023.
Great egret, Marine Park, Brooklyn, July 1, 2023
The great egrets in this slideshow were seen at Willow Pond on Long Island on September 16 and 17, 2023.
Great egret, Lido Beach Passive Nature Area, Long Island, June 5, 2023
Great egret, Sylvan Waters, Green-Wood Cemetery, April 19, 2024
This great egret visited Lido Beach Passive Nature Area on Long Island on July 13, 2023.
Great egret, the Meer, Central Park, April 3, 2021
Great egret, Green-Wood Cemetery, April 13, 2023
Great egret, North Mount Loretto State Forest snag pond, Staten Island, May 6, 2021
Great egret with a meal, Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, April 17, 2022
This is the headshot of a big great egret bully (just ask the green herons), seen at Sylvan Waters, Green-Wood Cemetery, May 13, 2021.
This slideshow features some of the great egrets I’ve seen throughout the city. Included are a great egret with a fish seen at Marine Park on August 8, 2021, and a great egret in Green-Wood Cemetery on August 10, 2021.
Great egret, Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, May 2, 2021
Great egret, the Lake, Central Park, April 14, 2021
Great egret, Turtle Pond, Central Park, March 27, 2021
Great egret, the Loch, Central Park, April 19, 2020
Great egret, Central Park, April 19, 2020
Great egret, at the marine near the Lido Beach Passive Nature Area, May 17, 2019
The Self-Assured Great Egrets in Central Park
Central Park gets visited by numerous great egrets, especially in the spring. I've photographed them at the Meer, the Pond, Turtle Pond and the Lake. One year one of the egrets would perch on a rock near me as I fed the ducks, hoping the duck activity would stir up the fish.
Great egret, Wolfe’s Pond, Staten Island, March 26, 2019
Great Egret at the Meer
April 25, 2018, was a rainy day at the Meer, but it didn't stop this great egret from posing.
Great egret, the Meer, Central Park, April 25, 2018
A Great Egret at Turtle Pond
I photographed a great egret on August 2, 2016, at Turtle Pond. It was evening, so the lighting is very dusky. I did a video, and took some nice shots.
This shot is from June 23, 2014.
This is the second video I've made of a great egret, down at the Pond, on April 22, 2015: Oh, Great Egret, What Big Eyes You Have!
March 23, 2013
March 23, 2013
Below left: July 1, 2015, The Pond; below right: April 22, 2015, The Pond
