from the August 7, 2011 Newsletter
issued from written at Mayan
Beach Garden Inn 20 kms north of Mahahual, Quintana Roo, México With that yellowish beak he's not a white immature Great Blue or Little Blue Heron. He lacks the Snowy Egret's yellow feet, and his neck is too slender and his bill too big to be a Cattle Egret, so he's the Great Egret, in old books called the Common Egret, ARDEA ALBA. Great Egrets also are nesting permanent residents in coastal Yucatán, so neither is this bird currently engaged in long-distance migration -- despite this being the first of this species seen since I got here three months ago. In fact, the recent appearance of hoards of Purple Martins, the night-heron and this Great Egret all signal a whole new chapter to this year's birding here on the southeastern Yucatán coast. Though even still there aren't many birds out there, species diversity along our part of the beach has practically doubled within the last couple of weeks. |