Great Egret

Great Egrets are uncommon fall visitors to the Puget Sound region of western Washington. The species spread into the state only in recent history. The first state record was in 1949. Birds began breeding in eastern Washington in the 1990s and spread down the Columbia River, with egrets nesting near the mouth of the river in the early 2000s. Egrets have spread north across the continent, with birds now breeding in Oregon and Idaho. One thought is that birds seen near Olympia are due to post-breeding dispersal by young egrets that hatched south of us. Egrets are now seen annually in the Olympia area. This bird was reported on eBird over the weekend at the Billy Frank Jr. National Wildlife Refuge. In these covid-ridden times, we do not visit the crowded refuge on the weekends. Erika and I waited until Monday, 31 August 2020, to find this bird surveying the refuge marshlands.