Bitterns, Herons, and Egrets
Order: Ciconiiformes Family: Ardeidae
The family Ardeidae contains the herons, egrets, and bitterns. Herons and Egrets are medium to large sized wading birds with long necks and legs. Bitterns tend to be shorter necked and more secretive. Unlike other long necked birds such as storks, ibises and spoonbills, members of Ardeidae fly with their necks retracted. Egrets, including the Great Egret, were decimated in the past by plume hunters, but numbers recovered when given protection in the 20th century. In Connecticut, 11 species have been recorded.
- American Bittern, Botaurus lentiginosus — uncommon but widespread and found at any time of the year; mostly found in large marshes in summer or winter, and migrants may use small marshes; numbers likely declined when the common reed displaced cattail marshes
- Least Bittern, Ixobrychus exilis — rarely seen; found in spring through fall in large marshes; prefers marshes roughly equally mixed between vegetation and open water
- Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias — common in marshes and other bodies of water from spring through fall; numbers have been increasing in recent decades; increasingly seen in winter, but still uncommon then
- Great Egret, Ardea alba — rather common along the coast from spring through fall and rarely in early winter; less commonly found inland; groups of about 100 pairs nest on Great Captain Island off Greenwich, Charles Island off Milford, and Dyuck Island at Westbrook; numbers have been increasing
- Snowy Egret, Egretta thula — rather common along the coast from spring through fall; can be found roosting at night with great egrets and cormorants; found in woody vegetation on coastal islands, including Great Captain Island off Greenwich, Charles Island off Milford, and Dyuck Island at Westbrook; the population on Long Island Sound (including New York state) declined a bit from 1,650 pairs in 1977 to 1,390 in 1998.
- Little Blue Heron, Egretta caerulea — not common, seen from spring through early fall, but most often from mid- to late summer and early in the fall when young birds enter the state from the south; found nesting in woody areas of coastal islands, including Great Captain Island off Greenwich and Charles Island off Milford; the nesting range expanded to the north along the East Coast in the 20th century
- Tricolored Heron, Egretta tricolor — seldom found in the state; seen in coastal waters in the spring and summer, occasionally nested in the woody areas of the Norwalk Islands; in the mid 20th century the species became more abundant in New York and southern New England
- Cattle Egret, Bubulcus ibis — rarely seen; found in coastal waters in spring and summer; has been seen regularly nesting in the woody areas of the Norwalk Islands; a native of the Old World, the egret showed up in the 1880s, first in South America and by the 1940s had spread north to Florida and then along the East Coast
- Green Heron, Butorides virescens — rather common; found in marshes and swamps from spring through fall; loss of marshes and damage to them likely caused a decline in this population in the 20th century
- Black-crowned Night-Heron, Nycticorax nycticorax — rather common on the coast and on the Connecticut River from spring through fall; rarely found in winter; spreads inland along the Connecticut and Housatonic Rivers in late summer; nests on coastal islands, including Great Captain Island off Greenwich, Charles Island off Milford, and Dyuck Island at Westbrook; the population in the state was about 500 pairs as of 2004; numbers declined in the Northeast United States in the 20th century, probably because of human disturbances and pesticide use; the Long Island Sound population (including New York state) declined from 2,400 pairs in 1977 to 1,390 in 1998
- Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, Nyctanassa violacea— rarely seen; found in coastal marshes from spring through early fall, usually in the western part of the state
Read more about this topic: List Of Birds Of Connecticut