 Breeding evidence |
||
Click for a larger version or to add map overlays |
||
Click on plot to view table of mean abundance
|
Number of squares
Long-term BBS trends
|
4.1 (0.498 - 8.03)|
Mean abundance (number of birds detected per 5 min. point count) and percentage of squares occupied by region Bird Conservation Regions [abund. plot]
[%squares plot]
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Atlas Results
Great Egrets were observed primarily in the vicinity of the Quill Lakes, a previously documented breeding location. Probable breeding evidence was obtained when males were observed performing "stretch? and "snap? courtship displays for presumed females in late May of 2018, but confirmed breeding remained elusive on this large and flooded terminal basin. Great Egrets were observed at the Quill Lakes in all five years, including many July records. A high count in late May 2017 documented 32 individuals. Other records include possible breeding sightings at Middle Lake and along the Souris River.
Note: During all years of the Saskatchewan Breeding Bird Atlas drought conditions persisted and the Atlas range maps for all waterfowl, waterbirds, and wetland-associated species should be viewed as characteristic of distribution and abundance during dry conditions. Read the full drought statement here.
Excerpts Adapted from the Birds of Saskatchewan:
This is our largest egret. Graceful and elegant, it approaches the size of a Great Blue Heron. The species was near extinction due to overexploitation for the millinery trade in the early 1900s. Since then the population has recovered, and increasingly birds are wandering north from the centre of abundance in the southern US. This egret freely associates with other herons for feeding, roosting, and even nesting. Formerly known as the Common or American Egret in North America, the Great Egret is a cosmopolitan species with a range that includes every continent except Antarctica.
This wading bird is strongly associated with marshes, mudflats, sheltered bays, and watercourses, frequently feeding in shallow water near extensive emergent vegetation.
An irregular summer visitor until 1970, the Great Egret is now rare but regular, recorded every year since 1999. It is also an irregular breeder with three breeding records from 1955 to 2015, coincident with an increasing continental egret population. Most birds are seen in May and June with another pulse in August and September. The near absence of birds in July (fewer than a dozen records) raises the question as to where they are in midsummer. Perhaps the first pulse is composed of adults prospecting for nest sites, the second of adults and young moving south from breeding sites in the province.
Original text by Philip S. Taylor. Text adapted by Daniel J. Sawatzky
Read more about the Great Egret in the Birds of Saskatchewan here.
Recommended citation: Latremouille, L. M. 2025. Great Egret in Latremouille, L. M., S. L. Van Wilgenburg, C. B. Jardine, D. Lepage, A. R. Couturier, D. Evans, D. Iles, and K. L. Drake (eds.). 2025. The Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Saskatchewan, 2017-2021. Birds Canada. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan https://sk.birdatlas.ca/accounts/speciesaccount.jsp?sp=GREG&lang=en [09 Nov 2025]
| Previous species: Western Cattle-Egret | Table of Contents | Next species: Great Blue Heron |