{"id":25800,"date":"2015-06-24T04:17:56","date_gmt":"2015-06-24T10:17:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=25800"},"modified":"2025-06-26T15:27:22","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T20:27:22","slug":"snowy-egret-in-breeding-plumage-at-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/06\/24\/snowy-egret-in-breeding-plumage-at-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/","title":{"rendered":"Snowy Egret in breeding plumage at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"SnowySnowy Egret in breeding plumage at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge – Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/3200, ISO 500, -0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Mornings this time of the year at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge<\/span><\/a> are cool, delightful and early on the subjects can appear to glow from the soft light like this Snowy Egret.<\/p>\n

The dark green reflections on the water are from rushes and the dark water show cases the snowy white plumage of the egret and accentuates the reddish color of the lores that indicate the egret is in breeding plumage.<\/p>\n

I suspect that before too long I will be seeing young Snowy Egrets learning how to hunt on their own at the refuge before they all head south later in the year.<\/p>\n

Snowy Egrets might not get as many “wows” as the Burrowing Owls<\/a><\/span> I posted yesterday but I feel every bird species is important and all of them have a place in my portfolios. Especially the more common ones.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Snowy Egret photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mornings this time of the year at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge are cool, delightful and early on the subjects can appear to glow from the soft light like this Snowy Egret. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":149463,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[124,1148,255,26],"tags":[4004,4053,743,351,4120,4094,3988,4001,313,3996,4095],"class_list":["post-25800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-snowy-egrets","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-breeding-plumage","tag-egret","tag-egrets","tag-egretta-thula","tag-marsh","tag-snowy-egret","tag-wading-bird","tag-wading-birds","tag-water","tag-wetlands"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/snowy-egret-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-7288.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-6I8","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":27419,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/08\/14\/a-flurry-of-snowies-in-august\/","url_meta":{"origin":25800,"position":0},"title":"Flurry of Snowies in August","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 14, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"There was lots of bird activity yesterday at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and a flurry of Snowy Egrets kept things interesting early in the morning.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Snowy Egret about to land at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/snowy-egret-flight-mia-mcpherson-4619.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/snowy-egret-flight-mia-mcpherson-4619.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/snowy-egret-flight-mia-mcpherson-4619.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/snowy-egret-flight-mia-mcpherson-4619.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":35495,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/02\/12\/snowy-egrets-of-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":25800,"position":1},"title":"Snowy Egrets of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 12, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The Snowy Egrets of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge never fail to delight me with their bright white plumage, golden feet, bright yellow lores and feathery plumes.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Snowy Egret scratching its neck, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/snowy-egret-scratching-mia-mcpherson-4572.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/snowy-egret-scratching-mia-mcpherson-4572.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/snowy-egret-scratching-mia-mcpherson-4572.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/snowy-egret-scratching-mia-mcpherson-4572.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5141,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/06\/05\/birds-of-bear-river-mbr-snowy-egrets\/","url_meta":{"origin":25800,"position":2},"title":"Birds of Bear River MBR – Snowy Egrets","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 5, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Recently I spent two days in a row photographing birds at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge (aka Bear River National Wildlife Refuge) and found plenty of birds to aim my lens at.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Snowy Egret about to land in a marsh at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/snowy-egret-flight-mia-mcpherson-6154.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/snowy-egret-flight-mia-mcpherson-6154.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/snowy-egret-flight-mia-mcpherson-6154.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/snowy-egret-flight-mia-mcpherson-6154.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":68502,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/04\/17\/my-first-of-year-snowy-egret-sightings\/","url_meta":{"origin":25800,"position":3},"title":"My First Of Year Snowy Egret Sightings","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 17, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Three days ago I spotted my first of the year Snowy Egret at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge when two egrets flew out of a ditch on the way to the auto tour loop.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Snowy Egret shaking its feathers in a marsh, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/snowy-egret-shaking-feathers-mia-mcpherson-5469.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/snowy-egret-shaking-feathers-mia-mcpherson-5469.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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