Great White Heron
Outdoor Ontario

Great White Heron

Axeman · 11 · 3525
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Axeman

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on: July 23, 2013, 08:39:50 PM
I saw a Great White Heron this past week...the yellow legs helped distinguish it from great egret....how common are they?
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »

cloaca

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Reply #1 on: July 23, 2013, 09:22:51 PM
Extremely rare, if that's what it was.    It was in your backyard?   Any pictures?
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »

thouc

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Reply #2 on: July 24, 2013, 12:10:36 AM
They occur chiefly in Florida. I'm not sure if there are any records in Ontario. According to eBird there was one in June in Maine and there are older records from Michigan and northern Pennsylvania, so it wouldn't be impossible for them to reach Ontario, but it would need to be extremely well documented.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »

newfoundlander61

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Reply #3 on: July 24, 2013, 05:44:48 AM
Most likely a great egret with colouring that may have appeared a little different which sometimes can happen depending how close you were.
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Axeman

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Reply #4 on: July 24, 2013, 07:59:02 AM
It looked like a blue heron only white....with yellow legs.....it was in a large pond on our road....
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Axeman

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Reply #5 on: July 24, 2013, 07:59:44 AM
And no...no pix...and I haven't seen it since....sigh
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Brian Bailey

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Reply #6 on: July 25, 2013, 12:52:46 PM
As already noted, a white form of the Great Blue Heron would be extremely rare in Ontario.  Along with the possibilities already mentioned, I'll add juvenile Little Blue Heron.  They're white, with greenish-yellow legs.  They're considerably smaller that a great blue, but with similar shape and proportions.  They're certainly not common in Ontario, but less of a stretch than a Great White Heron, plus there was one reported near Syracuse on Monday.

BB
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
Brian Bailey
Etobicoke

Axeman

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Reply #7 on: July 25, 2013, 01:22:28 PM
It was large...as large as gbh....guess ill go with egret then...
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cloaca

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Reply #8 on: July 25, 2013, 02:14:17 PM
Stranger things have happened.  Certainly worth keeping an eye out for!
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thouc

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Reply #9 on: July 25, 2013, 04:30:03 PM
I would say your description fits better with Great White Heron than Great Egret, which doesn't have yellow legs. And other white Egrets/Herons are much smaller.

It seems best to record it as "Great White Heron?" unless it is rediscovered.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »

Axeman

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Reply #10 on: August 25, 2013, 09:11:49 PM
Well...sheepishly...I think I'll report here on the board that it was an egret...saw it again...same pond...same spot in pond...
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »

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