I sent this to NYSBirds-L although I don't see it yet, but this is close enough to NYC to be of potential interest. Note that this is a non-definitive sighting.
Phil On Sun, Aug 29, 2021 at 9:52 PM Phil Jeffrey <phil.jeff...@gmail.com> wrote: > I'm wondering if I saw a Great White Heron. > > I was on a non-birding visit (but with binoculars) to Marshlands > Conservancy on the day before hurricane/TS Henri when I saw a large white > heron/egret that has been troubling me. Compared to the many Great Egrets > that I saw today in NJ, this bird remains anomalous, so: > > Initially assumed to be Great Egret. The bill appeared too massive, the > upper mandible somewhat dark, and the culmen somewhat straight. The > overall bill color did not present as the intense yellow that I saw on all > the Great Egrets today. The legs were blackish on the lower 1/4 (mud?) but > definitely not black for the remainder - more along the lines of olive but > not yellow. It flew from the shore (where I had assumed it was just a > Great Egret) to one of the mid-channel platforms and it gave a call that > reminded me of Great Blue, which is why I actually looked at it again. No > plumes. Lores appeared greenish but this bird was viewed at range without > a scope. > > On the face of it, it has potential to be Great White Heron but I assumed > I was just going senile since I've only ever seen that in FL. I may yet > still be nute, but this evening I noticed: > https://ebird.org/checklist/S74368904 > from Oct 2020 (Cos Cob, CT), also one report from Nov, and also references > an initial report by James Muchmore in late Sept 2020. > > Anyone birding the north shore of the L.I. sound might want to check Great > Egrets a little more carefully than usual. > > Phil Jeffrey > Princetin-ish NJ > > -- "If you lie to the compiler, it will get its revenge" -- Henry Spencer -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
