Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge – August 2023
/I left my parents’ house about 6 AM to get to Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge just after sunrise. It was a wonderful time to be at the refuge…with the sunrise colors in the sky and reflected in the water.
The first group of birds I saw were some cattle egrets in a shallow water field. Maybe it had been their roost site. The birds were moving around, and some were flying away.
A little further along on the opposite side of the wildlife drive, I came to a larger pond where many birds must have roosted. The majority were great egrets (white with yellow beaks) but there were a few great blue herons (darker plumage) and a few snowy egrets (white with dark beaks, smaller than great egrets).
The birds were noisy (songs to each other and the morning) and some were making short flights…a few leaving completely.
Others were finding fish for breakfast!
Most of the great blue herons I saw were juveniles.
More from Hagerman in tomorrow’s post….
