I photographed this Snowy Egret last weekend in Stratford, Connecticut, as part of a Christmas Bird Count. It is one of only several recorded anywhere in the state in the last few decades during a CBC period. Climate change certainly has helped many new species pop up on these late autumn/early winter December days when they would normally be long gone to our south. I cannot blame the climate fully when accounting for this long-legged wader because while it appears to be perched at the edge of a coastal river or stream any waterbird would love, the water here is actually the outflow from a sewage treatment plant. This unnaturally heated area undoubtedly has helped to convince this and another Snowy Egret to stick around. Whether we want to select the climate or this “spa” of sorts it seems likely we humans are responsible for changing the lives of these birds – for better or for worse? We shall see.
Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
