{"id":61936,"date":"2019-12-08T05:59:42","date_gmt":"2019-12-08T12:59:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=61936"},"modified":"2025-09-01T14:54:01","modified_gmt":"2025-09-01T19:54:01","slug":"snowy-great-egret","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/12\/08\/snowy-great-egret\/","title":{"rendered":"Snowy Great Egret"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"GreatGreat Egret in a snowy marsh \u2013 Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/2000, ISO 320, +1.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Four years ago this month I was delighted when I spotted and photographed a Great Egret flying into the snow covered marsh in front of me at Farmington Bay WMA<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

I was used to seeing Great Egrets in Florida because they were abundant there but here in Utah I see them far less often and even more rarely in the winter when there is snow on the ground.<\/p>\n

I was thrilled to have this big, white wading bird where I could take photos of it in what was on that day a winter wonderland.<\/p>\n

\"eBird

eBird Great Egret bar chart for Utah<\/p><\/div>\n

Great Egrets can be found in Utah year round but they are not as commonly seen as many of our other wading birds here. It isn’t uncommon for me to see Black-crowned Night Herons and Great Blue Herons in the snow but this was only my second sighting of a Great Egret during the winter.<\/p>\n

The first time I saw one I took a few photos of the egret but it was not in good light and the bird was nearly hidden so to have one out in the open marsh was a reason for me to celebrate. And I did.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

I was thrilled to have this big, white wading bird where I could take photos of it in what was on that day a winter wonderland.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":153789,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,1022,697,362,26],"tags":[4004,4272,743,351,363,4094,4050,4328,4001,4095,373],"class_list":["post-61936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-farmington-bay-wma","category-great-egrets","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-ardea-alba","tag-egret","tag-egrets","tag-great-egret","tag-marsh","tag-snow","tag-snowy","tag-wading-bird","tag-wetlands","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/great-egret-snowy-marsh-mia-mcpherson-8016.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-g6Y","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":116268,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/09\/26\/snowy-egret-in-marsh-morning-light\/","url_meta":{"origin":61936,"position":0},"title":"Snowy Egret In Marsh Morning Light","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 26, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"One of the first birds I photographed this autumn was this fluffed-up Snowy Egret glowing in a natural spotlight in the marsh at Farmington Bay WMA.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Snowy Egret in morning light at Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/snowy-egret-marsh-morning-light-mia-mcpherson-1077-Copy.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/snowy-egret-marsh-morning-light-mia-mcpherson-1077-Copy.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/snowy-egret-marsh-morning-light-mia-mcpherson-1077-Copy.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/snowy-egret-marsh-morning-light-mia-mcpherson-1077-Copy.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":106501,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/09\/24\/snowy-egret-in-a-natural-spotlight\/","url_meta":{"origin":61936,"position":1},"title":"Snowy Egret In A Natural Spotlight","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 24, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"When this Snowy Egret emerged from the shadows and into the sunlight yesterday morning, I briefly forgot to breathe. The egret appeared to be glowing.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Snowy Egret stepping into the light, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/snowy-egret-in-spotlight-mia-mcpherson-6585.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/snowy-egret-in-spotlight-mia-mcpherson-6585.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/snowy-egret-in-spotlight-mia-mcpherson-6585.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/snowy-egret-in-spotlight-mia-mcpherson-6585.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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Snowy Egret photos\u2014two because I like them, and the last one because it makes me laugh out loud.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Snowy Egret looking snazzy, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/snowy-egret-farmington-bay-mia-mcpherson-3618.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-farmington-bay-mia-mcpherson-3618.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/snowy-egret-farmington-bay-mia-mcpherson-3618.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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