[cobirds] Re: interesting Snowy Egret at The Arsenal, Adams Co., Apr. 29; and other stuff

The goose/angler interaction made me laugh, and somehow motivated me to think about the Snowy Egret.  Possibilities come to mind:

(1) all snowy egrets have this breeding plumage briefly, and I've never noticed it before;

(2) somehow just the feathers at the back of the head were stained when the bird was foraging in dark-colored water;

(3) a genetic anomaly in this particular bird that affects just the feathers on the back of the head;

(4) hybridization with Cattle Egret (I don't even know if that's possible);

(5) disease affecting the feathers at that location;

(6) insects / mites / parasites affecting the feathers at that location;

(7) the bird perched with the back of it's head subject to an exhaust fan from an industrial facility that expels a dark contaminate

(I saw a pink-colored Rock Pigeon once, and a half hour later, saw it's roost at a fiberglass batt manufacturing plant);

(8) evolution in action; the bird in the photograph will be more successful than it's peers;

(9) something else.

eBird has about 150,000 photos of Snowy Egret; I didn't go through all of them, but here are some interesting photos:

https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/543479121

https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/391235451

(what's going on with this bird?)

https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/483064311

https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/75611831

(this might just be lighting)

https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/353345441

(how staining at the back of the head might occur)

https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/359495781

(maybe lighting again)

https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/33365841

(lighting ?)

https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/466387331

https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/319186461

https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/338686541

https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/480235771

(that was just for fun...)

https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/359495781

https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/96980911

(this last photo makes me think: option 10:  straw colored plumage at Snowy Egret back-of-head is variable)

Thanks for a great post, Ted Floyd, and motivating me to learn stuff!

On Saturday, April 29, 2023 at 7:41:37 PM UTC-6 Ted Floyd wrote:

Hey, all.

With a group from the Univ. of Denver, I saw a curious snowy egret at Lake Ladora, upper (north) end, Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, Adams Co., earlier this sunny and warm Sat., Apr. 29. Basically, it was doing the cattle egret thing, with creamsicle orange highlights in the plumage. Got pics from multiple angles, so I'm sure it wasn't just a trick of light. Anyhow, this bird:

I can't recall ever having seen a snowy egret thus attired.

We saw a pair of most excellent long-billed curlews walking around and mostly standing about plausible-looking nesting microhabitat beyond the bison perimeter at the Big Bluestem exclosure. Happily, the birds were on the other side of the big fence, so human disturbance won't be a factor, should the birds elect to raise a family there. Wouldn't that be something! Here's one of the birds:

Willets everywhere. At least 32 at Havana Ponds, and probably more than that. Most of them were pill-will-willet'ing, but this one was mum:



We saw an eastern bluebird at the terminus of the trail that comes in from the east to Upper Derby. Fuzzy and heat-shimmered, but I don't think I've ever seen a bluebird at The arsenal except fall–winter, so we were pleased with the find. Maybe prospecting for a nest site?—



Nice day out there. Practically zilch on the migratory front. The weather was just too nice. But a delectably eclectic assortment of such goodies as wood duck, burrowing owl, rock wren, Townsend solitaire, great-tailed grackle...no rhyme or reason at all, just fun birds. 8 or 9 species of shorebirds; decent numbers of western, eared, and horned grebes all together on Ladora; shockingly few warblers (3 yellow-rumps and nothing else); a Lincoln sparrow here, a Brewer sparrow there, and both black-lored and white-lored white-crowned sparrows.

Looks like we came up with 76 bird species for the outing. Tiger beetles included green claybank and oblique-lined. Several brilliant coyotes. Also: illogical trail closures; a motorcycle race on the auto loop; and a Canada goose fighting with and vanquishing a fisherman. What that goose did to the fisherman looked painful. Use your imagination. But COBirds is family-friendly, and I shall say nothing more of the matter.

Ted Floyd

Lafayette, Boulder Co.

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