A Great Egret Takes Flight
A dazzling sight anywhere is the elegant, all-white Great Egret.
The Great Egret is smaller and more slender than the Great Blue Heron, but their take-off is just as graceful.
The Great Egret’s powerful wingspan is 4 to 5 feet (131-145 cm).
The Great Egret can reach a cruising speed of 25 mph (40 kmh).
In the late nineteenth century, the Great Egret was hunted almost to extinction for their plumes, igniting outrage over the slaughter of millions of all kinds of birds for the millinery trade. In 1896, a conservation movement was organized by two women, Harriet Hemenway and Mina Hall, to convince the Boston society ladies to shun all hats with bird feathers. These meetings created the beginning of the Audubon and the foundation of the Massachusetts Audubon Society.
The Great Egret was selected as the symbol of the National Audubon Society. How appropriate!
© Audubon protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow.
Cheers to the Audubon and their work!
Photos by Donna 
Terrific shots Donna. But more significantly I learned about Harriet Hemenway and Mina Hall. Their efforts helped to change 19th century culture to one that instead fosters an appreciation of nature and to have society recognize that humans need to serve as stewards of the diverse animal life with whom we share this planet.
Thank you Steve for your wonderful comments! I too learned this info about the women heralded in helping to found the Audubon, and thought I’d share for others who didn’t know. 🙂
LOVE, love, love!..Excellent captures……
Thank you very much, Beth, I am glad you enjoyed them!
Very much so 😊💖
Beautiful photos! I love seeing those big birds in flight!
Thank you Terry, I do too! 🙂
My mouth dropped open and I said ahhh when I opened your blog. Thank you Donna for this beauty today.
Ooooh, I love to drop a jaw with my photos! 😉 I am glad you enjoyed these photos, Sharon.
Beautiful elegant birds; their plumes belong to them! And, your photo shots with the egret against the blue water is striking.
Thank you so much! They’re whiteness against blue waters is so pretty to me too. 🙂
I agree
Excellent captures Donna! The lighting is perfect! 🙂
Thank you very much, HJ! 🙂
Wonderful capture of this elegant bird. Especially loved the one with reflections.
Thank you Gunta, their pure whiteness is so striking, especially in reflections! 🙂
Congratulations to Harriet Hemenway and Mina Hall. We need more like them now.
Yes we do.
Beautiful stunning shots Donna, such a beautiful pure white. A wonderful historical introduction to your bird conservation society, thanks for sharing this, it is good that people take notice before it is too late and species are lost to extinction. A great post Donna!
Thank you so much, Ashley, and you are welcome! Have a good different weekend, take care.
Wonderful photos!
Thank you Belinda!
Wonderful captures Donna!! And loved the story of Audubon’s beginnings. It’s funny that I also saw and ‘shot’ many Great Egrets yesterday. They are such beautiful creations!
Thank you Helen! It seems they are more in numbers around me more than any other bird, besides the Pelicans. Most though at a great distance standing among dead marsh grass. I was happy to find some closer to me and with water in the background. 🙂
Terrific photos of the egret taking off!
Thank you very much, Jerry!
Beautiful pics, and love the little bit of history that goes with them.
Thank you very much, Chris!
Love that banner photo. 🙂
Thank you Kathy 🙂
These are beautiful images!
Thank you Jane!
Wonderful and beautiful series. The egret with its wings up ready for take off is splendid.
Thank you Deborah! They have wings of an angel! 🙂
sad to hear the egrets were in danger like so many other gentle creatures. nice photo captures of a beautiful bird!
Thank you so much, BT!
Beautiful series and thanks for including the Audubon information!🙂
Thank you so much and you are welcome! 🙂
Absolutely gorgeous photos! Hard not to ponder feathers with such a creature. Somehow Great Egrets and Snowies defy the “dark feathers (with melanin) are stronger” paradigm.
Thanks Lisa, and you’re right, they do.
Superb shots of this graceful bird!! I’ve yet to see one in person. Guess I should do some travelling!
Thanks, their pure-white feathers are breathtaking. I love seeing them in flight!
Like a lace in the nature.. so precious lace… Thank you dear Donna, Love, nia
Thank you Nia, their Spring feathers are so delicate and pretty, especially in the wind. 🙂
Nice going in the way you stopped the egret in flight.
Thank you very much, Steve!
These are superb photos of the Great Egret, Donna! I really like the colors that you captured.
Thank you so much, Hien!