BIRDS OF NANTUCKET
EGRETS, I'VE HAD A FEW
by Kenneth Turner Blackshaw
I've got my granddaughter to thank for this title because it arrived emblazoned upon a tee shirt last Christmas. I also thought about 'The Accidental Tourist' for this article, with apologies to William Hurt and Geena Davis. This week's bird is classed as 'Accidental' on Nantucket and when it arrives here it certainly fulfills the role of a tourist.

"Birding Nantucket" by Andrews and Blackshaw defines an accidental species to be one that has been recorded five or fewer times over the past 50 years. This bird has been seen on five occasions since 1992 and seems well on its way to becoming part of the regular checklist, promoted to 'rare' status.

This is another white egret to provide confusion for Nantucket's birders. We have the Great Egret, the Snowy Egret and the Cattle Egret. Now let's add the Little Egret - Egretta garzetta.

Egrets of any sort were more than rare when Griscom and Folger published their Nantucket bird book in 1948. Then they were known mostly from birds that were shot in the late 1800s. The Great and Snowy Egrets became more common in the latter part of the 20th century and now nest here. Cattle Egrets are great wanderers and we look for them in the spring and fall.

Little Egrets are tricky beasts to identify. I remember them when I lived in Taiwan in the '70s. They were easily found there in Eastern Asia and I thought then, "How would you ever distinguish one of these from a Snowy Egret?" They are the common small, white egret across Eurasia and Africa and have now found their way to the New World, taking much the same route used by another invader, the Cattle Egret.

There is a wind pattern that occasionally brings African birds across to northern South Little Egret came from the island of Barbados in 1954. More appeared over the next decades and the species has been nesting on Barbados since 1994. It is theorized that these newcomers occasionally tag along with our summer Snowy Egrets as they journey north to Nantucket.

It's interesting that Little Egrets are also undergoing a northern expansion in Europe. Originally restricted to southern Europe, they've been nesting in the British Isles since 1996. There are now 50 pairs breeding there and the winter population is 1,600. Makes me wonder where those 1,550 others are spending the summer.

So how do you split out a Little Egret? With great difficulty! Your first clue might be the plumes at the back of the head. The back of a Snowy Egret's head looks shaggy with its aigrettes forming a cloud of white behind it. Little Egrets tend to have one or two precisely delineated plumes. If they are with Snowy Egrets, they appear larger, with a longer bill that slopes more directly into the forehead. Look for more white along the

lower part of the beak. Both species have black legs and wear 'yellow slippers.'

The internet is becoming a better and better

birding tool. There is an excellent web

page that tells how to identify this species at http://www.oceanwanderers.com/LTEGRT.h tml with wonderful photos.

The key thing to do if you think you have found the sixth Little Egret for Nantucket's bird database is to take as many pictures of it as you can. In this day and age of digital photography it seems that even the most basic camera is capable of taking very useful and diagnostic pictures. Birds seldom pose the way you want them but if you get snapshots from all angles, a worthwhile image can often be reassembled.

The last record we had of Little Egret was in 2006. Edie Ray found one on the 21st of May at Eel Point and it stayed on through the 6th of August in the surrounding salt marshes. In most cases, when a bird shows up in May, it hangs around here until August. Since they are living the single life, they are obviously non-breeders, perhaps young or very old birds.

The earlier mentioned intercontinental wanderer, the Cattle Egret, arrived in our hemisphere in the late 1800s and is now found all the way up to Alaska and has nested in almost every state in the Union. Perhaps the Little Egret will follow in its footsteps.

George C. West creates illustrations for these articles. The Maria Mitchell Association sponsors bird walks on Tuesday and Saturday mornings starting at 8 a.m. from the corner of Vestal and Milk Streets. There is a fee. If you enjoy 'social' birding, join the Nantucket Bird Club at 8 a.m. Sundays in front of Nantucket High School for a two to three hour birding trip. Call 228-1693 for more information. To hear about rare birds, or to leave a bird report call the Massachusetts Audubon hot line at 1-781-259-8805. Ask Ken a question at: kenandcindy1@comcast.net.