Orange wing-tags on Great Egrets at Chantry and Nottawasaga Islands Unfortunately, the NYSDEC was unable to band Great Egrets on Motor Island in the Niagara River this June because of the early nesting due to our unusually warm March and April and other priorities such a cormorant control. However, in late June, orange wing-tags were placed on nearly 100 young Great Egrets at Chantry and Nottawasaga colonies near Southampton and Collingwood in Georgian Bay, Lake Huron. (Five Great Blue Herons were also banded.) Earlier this year, the two sites had 66 and 126 egret nests, respectively. Since Georgian Bay Great Egrets in the past have been observed at Tonawanda WMA, Montezuma NWR and other New York locations, New York Birders are urged to watch for egrets with these orange wing-tags as they disperse from these colonies and pass through New York. The large orange wing-tags are very visible and there are two numbers and a letter written on each tag to identify individual birds. If you observe one of these birds, please record the characters on the tag, the date and location of your sighting and the number of egrets in the group and your name and send them to Chip Weseloh at _ [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) _ July 7th Brendan Kick and I found a Great Egret with a red band above the “ knee” on the left leg and were able to red the band code on his photo, so do not forget to look for egrets with RED BANDS usually ABOVE THE ‘KNEE’ ON THE LEFT LEG this summer. The three letter-number code can usually be read with a scope. Please send the information to Chip and/or me at _ [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) _ I would be interested in those orange wing-tags also.
Thanks, Bill Watson Buffalo Ornithological Society [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) PS If you would like to see photos of a Great Egret with the orange wing tag so you know what to look for, I have two that I can send you. Bill -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
