Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Great Egret (Ardea alba)

Great Egret [lateral view]. Photograph Credit: Stephen J. Stedman; Cane Creek Park, Cookeville, Putnam County, Tennessee; 12 May 2002.

Abundance: Uncommon during spring and fall; Very Uncommon during summer and winter; recorded in 21 Regional counties, 8 in Kentucky and 13 in Tennessee (Map of UCR Distribution); data from the Regional bird-monitoring efforts are too few to determine a trend in the population present in the Region (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Transient during spring; post-breeding disperser during late summer and early fall; Transient during the latter part of fall; Visitor during early winter; photograph (see above).

Regional High Count: 24 (9 October 1994; Burgess Falls State Natural Area, Putnam County, Tennessee; Michael A. Sanders, Ann M. Sanders, Michele Ramsey; Stedman 2006b).

Regional Extreme Dates:

    Spring: x (

    Fall: x (

    Note: Spring arrival usually widespread by 10 April, while spring departure typically complete by 15 May; arrival of post-breeding dispersers and fall migrants typically widespread by 10 July, while fall departure normally complete by 15 November. Regional dates of earliest reported spring arrival and latest reported spring departure, as well as earliest reported fall arrival and latest reported fall departure, for the migration seasons 2002–2011 follow:

Habitat: x

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: Registered on 1 (of 125) monthly check-list during 2003 and on 1 (of 206) check-list during 2004, leading to a YardWatch frequency classification of Rare during each year; this YardWatch frequency classification is inconsistent with the overall Regional abundance classification, indicating that the Great Egret is less frequently encountered in Regional yards and neighborhoods than in the Region overall, a predictable result of the YardWatch project, given the general lack of appropriate habit for this heron in most Regional yards and neighborhoods.

Foray Results: A summary of data for late spring migrants from UCR Forays follows (to view a map displaying foray data for a county or a sub-Region for this species, click on the name of an underlined county or state below):

* Because some foray blocks fall into two or three counties, the total of blocks in the Kentucky or Tennessee portions of the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the counties of each portion of the Region; similarly, because some blocks fall into both states, the total of blocks for the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the two states.

Remarks: x

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Literature Cited