As readers who follow this blog will know, a smallish white egret with a long nuptial plume or two has been hanging around Weesuck Creek and, since Snowy Egrets do not normally have such plumes, the bird was identified (by me) as a possible Little Egret. However caution has been advised as, it is said, Snowy Egrets can sometimes have long plumes (usually together with the short, ragged head and nape plumes that are normal on breeding Snowys). Also this bird appeared to have jet black legs and some yellowish on the base of the lower mandible, both possible points in favor of Little. The skin around the eyes and on the lores is yellow which favors Snowy. I also thought the bird was slightly bigger and the base of the bill somewhat broader than on a typical Snowy but this was hard to judge (and there were no Snowys in the neghborhood for comparison.
Eric Salzman
How do you tell Little Egret apart from Snowy Egret or, for that matter, Reef Heron -- now usually called Reef Egret (the three species belong to a superspecies and are closely related)? If the bare skin around the eye and on the lores is blue-gray, the answer is probably Little Egret. If the color is yellow (as it appeared to be on our Weesuck Creek bird), the issue is up in the air as Littles can show yellow skin. Most of the other features are variable or subjective.
One correspondent even wrote to me describing a plumed egret seen somewhere in Long Island that was deemed to be a Snowy because its plume or plumes were feathered! This would seem to imply that the Little Egret plume is not feathered but I don't believe that for a second. I've seen Little Egrets in the UK, France, Spain, Africa and Asia and the plume or plumes always looked white to me. A plume is by definition a feather!
In the meanwhile, Luke Ormand, who took the pictures that accompanied Tuesday's post, sent them to -- of all people -- Bill Maynard, the editor of Winging It (for which I write the "Books for Birders" column!). Bill, in turn, sent it to Paul Lehman, the former editor of Birding Magazine and the person who hired me to work for Birding and Winging It! Paul has a slightly different take. He thinks that if it were a Little, the bill would look larger than it does. Even more tellingly, he points out that the yellow lores and feet are brighter on this bird than would be on a Little Egret (whose feet tend to be more of a greenish yellow). He also suggests that the bird is either an aberrant Snowy or a hybrid.
A hybrid? Why not. That would certainly explain a lot of things. If I'm not mistaken, Little Egrets breed in Barbados and occasionally mixed pairs of Little and Snowy Egrets are seen. I vote for a hybrid.
A footnote: Jean Held writes to point out that the dragonfly shown in a Purple Martin beak (another photo by Luke that was posted yesterday) is not a Seaside Dragonlet but one of the Aeshna or Epiaeschna darners. I know it looks like there's some kind of spelling error in there but I think I got the names right. On a closer look at the photo, I can see that Jean is right. That second tongue-twister of a name belongs to the Swamp Darner and Swamp Darner matches up in several points, notably the greenish rings around the abdomen not to mention the obviously large size. And, even as I write this, the ID is confirmed by Steve Biasetti! I didn't expect it to turn up on our salt marsh (as opposed to a fresh swamp) but thanks to the Purple Martin for showing it to us; I'm pleased to announce a new (new to me, at any rate) dragonfly for our local list!
Eric Salzman
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