Experienced birders know that you not only have to go to the "right" places to find certain birds, but you have to go at the right time. For the Reddish Egret that means going to areas that have broad open tidal flats, and going at low tide, as Reddish Egret hunts for small fish in shallow (2-6") water. Well, during our visit the low tides were rather high, i.e. high lows, and we saw just one Reddish Egret, and only briefly at that. The good news was that the bird was close and the light was good.
The plumage of the adult dark morph Reddish Egret changes little with breeding season, which can be vary in timing. The most dramatic changes are in the bare parts, as shown in the first photo. The legs become blue, the base of the bill becomes brighter pink with a jet black tip, and the lores blaze with stunning blues and violets. It doesn't get much better. Add to that the varied and sometimes frenetic foraging behavior, and you've got a memorable sighting.
Second photo was taken when the bird got too close (30'), and shows the spread wings often seen when its hunting, along with some of the fine plumes of the back and the impressive shaggy neck feathers.
A reflected image of the subject can add interest to a photo, or not, but this is the first time for me where the reflection was more in the nature of a shadow, which I thought was pretty cool. The bird is back-lit in all 3 photos.
The Reddish Egret population, decimated by the plume hunters, has made a decent recovery in most areas. It is pretty strictly a coastal species, and prefers warm salt water. Eagles can be a significant predator of both chicks and adults, and that may mean trouble in Florida where the Bald Eagles are successfully breeding in greater numbers. Raccoons can also disturb nesting colonies, and fire ants add to the threats.
Reddish Egret in seen in Florida, the Gulf Coast states, Baja, both coasts of Mexico, and further south on tidal flats of Costa Rica, Belize, various West Indies islands, and even the north coast of Venezuela.
Population:
"As an inhabitant almost exclusively of coastal lagoons of the Gulf Coast states, the Reddish Egret is North America’s rarest and least known ardeid. This species was nearly extirpated from the United States by plume hunters prior to 1900. Since then, populations have recovered, and U.S. populations currently total about 2,000 pairs; less is known about numbers in Mexico or the Caribbean." (BNA Online, #633, Lowther and Richard, 2002)
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