Name of Bird Species: Reddish Egret
Number of Birds Sighted: 2
Date & Time of Sighting: July 1, 2017, 9-10am
Location of Sighting: North Beach at low tide
The Reddish Egrets are here on North Beach! One was spotted by David Gardner on Friday, June 30. That night, Aija and I spotted two Reddish Egrets on Kiawah East Beach, an adult and an immature. On Saturday, July 1, Aija spotted an immature Reddish along the Ocean one half hour before low tide at the far end of North Beach. I photographed it for an hour as it did it’s beautiful fishing dance, moving through the tidal pools from near the ocean, across the wide low tide beach, and to the shore by the “no dogs allowed” sign.
Aija then spotted a second immature Reddish Egret in her scope at Beachwalker Park. This Reddish then flew across the channel to Seabrook, and was joined back out at the ocean by the one I had been photographing. So, there are at least three Reddish Egrets, these two immature birds, and the adult we saw at Kiawah East Beach.
The immature Reddish Egret is a paler ashy-gray color. An adult Reddish Egret is more distinctive in color, with clean gray body and shaggy reddish neck. There may be a Tricolored Heron also fishing in the tide pools, and it has a white stripe on the neck and white under wings and on body.
The Reddish has a wide variety of feeding behaviors: running through shallows with long strides, staggering sideways, leaping in air, raising one or both wings as a canopy to shade schools of small fish seeking shelter in the shade, and abruptly stabbing at fish.
We did not see a Reddish on Monday, July 3. But keep looking. It should be on North Beach possibly through September.
Article Submitted by Aija Konrad, Photos by Ed Konrad
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