Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2003 17:59:22 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Fred Shaffer Subject: CORRECTION: Juvenile Cattle Egret at Schoolhouse Pond After work, I took my scope out to Schoolhouse Pond to get a closer look at the white heron I posted about earlier. Upon closer inspection, I discovered that it wasn't a Snowy Egret at all, but a juvenile Cattle Egret. The bird is all white in plumage, but had very dark gray legs and feet. The feet were the same dark gray as the legs. The bill was also all dark grey, with paler lores. The bill was short and stout, in keeping with a Cattle Egret. My initial reaction was that it was a juvenile Little Blue, but the legs were much darker than any of the illustrations in my guides for Little Blues, and the bill shape seemed wrong. The bird was still there as I left around quarter after 5 pm. This is the second Cattle Egret I've seen at the pond. There was a breeding adult in April 2001. Also, early this spring, I saw an adult in a field at nearby Merkle WMA. Fred Shaffer Patuxent Bird Club GlaucousGull1611@aol.com ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey =======================================================================