Reddish Egret
Egretta rufescens
Like its cousin the Little Blue Heron, we normally find the Reddish Egret in Central America, the Bahamas, the Caribbean, the Gulf Coast of the United States, and Mexico. Sightings in San Diego have become regular in the past few years.
Reddish Egrets are perhaps the most active hunters in the clan of waders. I enjoy watching them ‘dance’ over the shallow waters to scare prey into the open. One of their signature moves is to circle their wings overhead like an umbrella to bring their fish prey into view. While this umbrella move isn’t as dramatic as its African cousin the Black Heron, they will use their wings to create a shadow and cut the glare from the water’s surface to better see their prey.
Today’s science recognises two subspecies of Reddish Egret, and the separation corresponds to an east-west division of their population:
- E. r. dickeyi lives on the Baja California Peninsula, around the Gulf of California, and south to Sinaloa, Oaxaca, and Chiapas. Vagrants regularly show up in Southern California.
- E. r. rufescens lives around the Gulf of Mexico and on the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and Caribbean coasts of Central America and in northern South America. We only see the White Morph of this bird in the subspecies E. r. rufescens.
In Texas, I found a white-morph Reddish Egret foraging in the surf at the mouth of the Rio Grande. I first thought it was another Snowy Egret until I examined the photos I took showing both species, and I noticed the discrepancies.
19 Photos
Reddish Egret(Egretta rufescens) |
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Description: Tijuana River Mouth in Imperial Beach, California. San Diego County. |
Date Taken: 2013:04:22 9:45 |
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Location:
Tijuana River Mouth |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/4000 |
File Name: D3X4879-ReddishEgret |
| © 2013 Jack Daynes, shadeTree-Imaging.com |
Reddish Egret(Egretta rufescens) |
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Description: Tijuana River Mouth in Imperial Beach, California. San Diego County. |
Date Taken: 2013:04:22 9:46 |
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Location:
Tijuana River Mouth |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/4000 |
File Name: D3X4891-ReddishEgret |
| © 2013 Jack Daynes, shadeTree-Imaging.com |
Reddish Egret(Egretta rufescens) |
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Description: South San Diego Bay near the Chula Vista Marina. San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2010:08:04 10:56 |
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Location:
J-Street |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/4000 |
File Name: JCD3954.ReddishEgret |
| © 2010 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Reddish Egret(Egretta rufescens) |
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Description: South San Diego Bay near the Chula Vista Marina. San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2010:08:04 11:07 |
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Location:
J-Street |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/4000 |
File Name: JCD3981.ReddishEgret |
| © 2010 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Reddish Egret(Egretta rufescens) |
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Description: At the slough near the mouth of the San Digito River. Del Mar, San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2010:08:09 10:31 |
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Location:
San Diguito Slough |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/6.3, 1/1600 |
File Name: JCD5193.ReddishEgret |
| © 2010 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Reddish Egret(Egretta rufescens) |
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Description: South San Diego Bay near the Chula Vista Marina. San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2011:06:08 12:32 |
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Location:
J-Street |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/6.3, 1/1600 |
File Name: JCD9716-ReddishEgret |
| © 2011 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Reddish Egret(Egretta rufescens) |
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Description: I drove to Port Isabel from Brownsville on an errand and found birds like this egret on the roadside. |
Date Taken: 2020:04:06 11:08 |
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Location:
Highway-48 |
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Camera Information: NIKON D500, 550 mm, f/8.0, 1/3200 |
File Name: ReddishEgret_D501973-PortIsabel-TX |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Reddish Egret(Egretta rufescens) |
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Description: I drove to Port Isabel from Brownsville on an errand and found birds like this egret on the roadside. |
Date Taken: 2020:04:06 11:08 |
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Location:
Highway-48 |
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Camera Information: NIKON D500, 550 mm, f/8.0, 1/3200 |
File Name: ReddishEgret_D501974-PortIsabel-TX |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Reddish Egret(Egretta rufescens) |
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Description: I drove to Port Isabel from Brownsville on an errand and found birds like this mixed flock of spoonbills and egrets on the roadside. |
Date Taken: 2020:04:06 11:06 |
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Location:
Highway-48 |
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Camera Information: NIKON D500, 550 mm, f/8.0, 1/3200 |
File Name: ReddishEgret-MixedFlock_D501930-PortIsabel-TX |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Reddish Egret(Egretta rufescens) |
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Description: While not as dramatic as its African cousin, the Black Heron, if you watch Reddish Egrets long enough, you will see them use their wings to shade the water to remove glare and better see their prey. My second full day on South Padre Island, Texas was less birdy than my first day, but still I met some great birds. |
Date Taken: 2020:05:02 9:17 |
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Location:
Convention Center |
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Camera Information: NIKON D500, 800 mm, f/7.1, 1/2000 |
File Name: ReddishEgret_D501758-South-Padre |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Reddish Egret(Egretta rufescens) |
|
Description: While not as dramatic as its African cousin, the Black Heron, if you watch Reddish Egrets long enough, you will see them use their wings to shade the water to remove glare and better see their prey. My second full day on South Padre Island, Texas was less birdy than my first day, but still I met some great birds. |
Date Taken: 2020:05:02 9:17 |
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Location:
Convention Center |
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Camera Information: NIKON D500, 800 mm, f/7.1, 1/2000 |
File Name: ReddishEgret_D501774-South-Padre |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Reddish Egret(Egretta rufescens) |
|
Description: While not as dramatic as its African cousin, the Black Heron, if you watch Reddish Egrets long enough, you will see them use their wings to shade the water to remove glare and better see their prey. My second full day on South Padre Island, Texas was less birdy than my first day, but still I met some great birds. |
Date Taken: 2020:05:02 9:22 |
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Location:
Convention Center |
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Camera Information: NIKON D500, 800 mm, f/7.1, 1/2500 |
File Name: ReddishEgret_D501864-South-Padre |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Reddish Egret(Egretta rufescens) |
|
Description: While not as dramatic as its African cousin, the Black Heron, if you watch Reddish Egrets long enough, you will see them use their wings to shade the water to remove glare and better see their prey. My second full day on South Padre Island, Texas was less birdy than my first day, but still I met some great birds. |
Date Taken: 2020:05:02 9:23 |
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Location:
Convention Center |
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Camera Information: NIKON D500, 800 mm, f/7.1, 1/1250 |
File Name: ReddishEgret_D501872-South-Padre |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Reddish Egret(Egretta rufescens) |
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Description: The beach by Border Field and the Tijuana River Mouth in Imperial Beach, California. San Diego County. |
Date Taken: 2013:08:02 10:48 |
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Location:
Border Field |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/4000 |
File Name: D3X1136-ReddishEgret |
| © 2013 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Reddish Egret(Egretta rufescens) |
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Description: The larger white egret here appears to be a white-morph Reddish Egret. I rode my bike to the southern end of Boca Chica Beach and enjoyed meeting the foraging birds at the mouth of the Rio Grande. This is the east-most border of Texas and Mexico. |
Date Taken: 2021:01:30 8:41 |
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Location:
Boca Chica Beach |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/11.0, 1/2000 |
File Name: ReddishEgret-WhiteMorph-Juvenile_D5X6541-BocaChicaBeach |
| © 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Reddish Egret(Egretta rufescens) |
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Description: Reddish Egrets fared well in the mangrove lined shallows of Laguna Madre. There are wetlands that the South Padre Island Convention Centre (free access) and the Birding & Nature Center (admission fee required) share. My previous visits to the wetlands had been to the Convention Centre. On this day I would find out why folks pay money to see the marsh, when there is free access next door. |
Date Taken: 2021:02:08 12:48 |
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Location:
South Padre Island WBC |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/11.0, 1/1000 |
File Name: ReddishEgret_D5X0889-SouthPadre-WBC |
| © 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Reddish Egret(Egretta rufescens) |
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Description: A close look at this bird showed it was an immature White-Morph Reddish Egret with a small fry as prey. I loaded my gear on my bike and rode out on Boca Chica Beach to the mouth of the Rio Grande, where the fresh water meets the Gulf of Mexico. Here the chances to meet and observe the dynamic interaction of species are high. |
Date Taken: 2021:03:27 9:29 |
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Location:
Boca Chica Beach |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/8000 |
File Name: ReddishEgret-WhiteMorph-Juvenile_D5X5671-BocaChicaBeach |
| © 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Reddish Egret(Egretta rufescens) |
|
Description: A close look at this bird showed it was an immature White-Morph Reddish Egret with a small fry as prey. I loaded my gear on my bike and rode out on Boca Chica Beach to the mouth of the Rio Grande, where the fresh water meets the Gulf of Mexico. Here the chances to meet and observe the dynamic interaction of species are high. |
Date Taken: 2021:03:27 9:29 |
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Location:
Boca Chica Beach |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/8000 |
File Name: ReddishEgret-WhiteMorph-Juvenile_D5X5686-BocaChicaBeach |
| © 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Reddish Egret(Egretta rufescens) |
|
Description: The beach by Border Field and the Tijuana River Mouth in Imperial Beach, California. San Diego County. |
Date Taken: 2013:08:02 10:48 |
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Location:
Border Field |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/3200 |
File Name: D3X1134-ReddishEgret |
| © 2013 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
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