How do I catch a Great White Egret? Dozens of them lite in the waterways next door. I just want to inspect.?
Posted by admin on Saturday, January 9th, 2010
This is a birding haven in this area, along the official migratory path in Texas as birds from the north fly south into Mexico for the winter, hugging coastal areas and liting along the way. We have over 500 species of migratory birds pass through here, but one of the more interesting ones is the Great White Egret which stands about chest high and has an impressive wingspan of 6 to 9 feet. They are as white as pure light with long legs and necks, and have an extended yellow beak for hunting small fish, bugs and occasional frogs, so they are waders. I see them sometimes in impressive flocks of 100 or more, landing along our canals, ponds and waterways.
I don’t want to keep one as a pet, but I’d like to catch and release, just to get a closer look at these magnificient birds. Ist that wrong? Would I stress it too much? How could I humanely catch one and maybe feed it something, just to learn more first hand about this wonderful creature that graces our area?
Filed in Fly Fishing Reels | 3 responses so far
sporregaron 09 Jan 2010 at 8:15 pm 1If you don’t know what you’re doing you could hurt or even kill the bird. Also may not be legal as it’s a migratory bird and you’re not an official warden or anything.
I’d contact the local DNR and see if they have any organizations that need bird counting, catch/release or whatever. Perhaps even working at a bird sanctuary.
hill bill yon 09 Jan 2010 at 8:50 pm 2get a camera with a good zome lense and take photos of them dont try to catch them just take pict of them so you can enjoy them for ever
birdgirlon 09 Jan 2010 at 9:23 pm 3It would be highly illegal for you to catch a wild bird. You can pay a huge fine and even spend some time in jail for this. All native birds are protected by law. The bird would be totally stressed and could die if you trapped it. Also, these birds can be highly dangerous..you can be injured by it, they are very strong and could easily peck your eye out. You are better off studying this birds through the internet, books, etc. not by capturing one and breaking the law and most likely killing it.