Great Egret in flight
Ardea alba
Great Egret · Staten Island · 5 July 2026
A Great Egret over a pond on Staten Island in July, one of the harbour's breeding birds on its way between the roost islands and a feeding pond. Great Egrets nest in colonies on the small islands of New York harbour and fish every park pond in the city.
The yellow bill and black legs separate it from the smaller Snowy Egret, which reverses both colours. Egrets were hunted almost to disappearance around 1900 for their breeding plumes, and the outrage helped found the National Audubon Society - worth remembering looking at a bird now common enough to be unremarkable over a pond like this.
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