Meade County Birds: The Cattle Egret

Have you ever watched one of those African safari shows on television and seen a white bird sitting on the back of a Rhino or Water Buffalo?  Have you ever seen the same species of bird riding on the back of a Herford cow in Kansas?  Or, have you seen the same bird riding on a sweep plow behind a John Deere tractor.  That bird is the Cattle Egret.
    Cattle Egrets are a small heron, native to Asia and Africa.  The first nesting record for the species was on May 5, 1953 in Florida.  By 1964, they were recorded in Kansas and by 1973, they were nesting.
    Cattle Egrets nest in Meade County on occasion, and at times in very large colonies.  When a nesting colony is in the area, anything that moves is considered food.  The egrets will fan out over the area wheat fields and pastures, following cattle and horses and eating insects that they stir up.  They will even ride on the backs of livestock for a better view.
    Not satisfied with insects to feed their voracious young’s appetites, they will eat frogs, salamanders, snakes, mice, birds and anything else they find.  When banding young Cattle Egrets, it quickly becomes evident what they have eaten when they regurgitate a mucus covered bolus of the partially digested items.
    Cattle Egrets arrive as early as April 2nd in Meade County and stay until early October.  When the playa lakes are full, they probably nest in the area, but most years, they become rather scarce by mid-summer.
    Cattle Egrets winter just south of our area and could possibly linger for a winter record during mild weather. 
    Get out and see if you can catch a glimpse of a late fall Cattle Egret.  They were still at Meade State Lake over Labor Day weekend.
    A native of Southwest Kansas, Tom Flowers is District Conservationist with the Meade County Natural Resources Conservation Service.