For the past few weeks there's been a GREAT EGRET hanging out at Roaches
Run in Arlington, VA.  I saw the bird a couple of times in late
December.  Then, on January 1st, a GREAT EGRET was reported from the
Columbia Island Channel in DC (this is the channel that runs between
Columbia Island and Arlington, by the Pentagon, and includes the LBJ
Memorial Park.  The DC bird was seen on Mike Bowen's MOS trip.  Since
I've seen Great Egret in every month in DC except January, I was keen on
seeing this bird, as it would be a close-out.  So on Jan. 2nd I went to
LBJ park to check out the channel.  Alas, I was unable to find the
egret.  From LBJ I drove to Roaches Run, and saw a/the egret from the
parkway, in a tree between the parkway and the lagoon.  I figured it
must be the same bird and was flying back and forth between the two
areas since they are so close.

So imagine my surprise when I went to LBJ this afternoon (Friday, Jan.
6th) and saw 2 GREAT EGRETS roosting in trees along the channel, just
north of the footbridge between the park and the Pentagon.  After
watching these birds for a bit, I left them in their trees and got in my
car and drove to Roaches Run to see if the other egret was there.  I was
even more surprised to see 2 GREAT EGRETS roosting in trees at the north
end of the lagoon.  While I'll believe that they were 2 different
individuals than the birds I saw at LBJ, they could have been the same
ones, making a quick flight between the time I left them and got to the
lagoon.  Then, as I was leaving the parking area for Roaches Run, I saw
yet another GREAT EGRET feeding in the water at the south end of the
lagoon.  So clearly there were at least 3 and possibly/probably 5 GREAT
EGRETS in DC and Arlington this afternoon.  I think this is
unprecedented for this area at this time of year, and must surely be
tied to the mild fall and winter we've had so far (if not grander
changes to the climate).  I believe there's another Great Egret hanging
out at Huntley Meadows right now, and I wouldn't be surprised if there
are a few more in the area.  On a related note, there's a White Ibis
that's still being seen in central Pennsylvania.  Perhaps other
close-outs aren't too far away.

I'm curious to know how many Great Egrets were seen on the DC Christmas
Count on Dec. 17th.

Good birding,
Paul Pisano
Arlington, VA


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