Great Egret

This elegant Great Egret is another bird I photographed yesterday at Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge.  They are one of the easier birds to spot and identify, particularly in winter, with their bright white coloring against the gray-brown of winter. Like the Tundra Swan I posted yesterday they are both big white birds, how big and which is bigger, I had to look up in a bird guide.  Birds are measured from the tip of the beak to the tip of the tail.  The Great Egret measures 3 ½ feet in length compared to 4 ½ feet for the Tundra Swan. The Egret is a year around resident here is Western Oregon, where as the Swan migrates here only for the winter.