Wading birds abound throughout southern Illinois
Wading birds (waders) are made up of herons, egrets, ibis, spoonbills, and other long-legged birds that wade in shallow water to hunt for their prey.
These beautiful and stately birds usually have long necks and sharp, narrow bills with which to stab their aquatic dinner. Dinner consists of fish, frogs, crayfish, and other pond denizens. In southern Illinois we have eight waders that breed, and several others that visit us from the Gulf states in summer and fall. Most of our herons and egrets depart for the south before the first frost, but a few hardy soles may brave a mild winter.
Among the herons, Great Blue and Green are fairly easy to spot in the lakes and wetlands of southern Illinois. The Great Blue Heron is our largest wader, standing an impressive four feet tall and sporting a wingspan of six feet. These birds build massive nests in trees, often in colonies known as heronries. Look for them at the edges of lakes, like Crab Orchard, and in wetlands like Oakwood Bottoms. This is also the only wader that you are likely to find in the winter, as long as our lakes don't freeze over.
On the opposite side of the size scale is the Green Heron, which stands just 18 inches in height. You'll find this rufous, green, and gray wader feeding along the edge of ponds, streams, and marshes throughout our area. Even though it is well camouflaged, it gives itself away with a hoarse croak when it flushes.
The Snowy Egret is one our most beautiful birds with gleaming white plumage, jet black bill and legs, and yellow slippers for feet. During the breeding season egrets acquire showy plumes on their head, neck and back, which almost resulted in their demise at the turn of the 20th century. "Plume hunters" slaughtered hundreds of thousands of the birds for the millinery trade, so fashionable ladies could wear fancy hats adorned with wispy feathers. A boycott of the plume trade organized by two Boston socialites ultimately led to the formation of the National Audubon Society, and to the passage of the Migratory Bird Act in 1913. This law outlawed market hunting and put an end to the plume trade. Where the Big Muddy Levee runs between Grand Tower and Illinois Route 3, look for Snowy Egret, and its larger cousin the Great Egret (look for its big orange bill), in backwaters, pools, and flooded areas.
<h3 class="breakHead">Current regional sightings</h3>
At the end of summer some waders disperse from their breeding grounds in the southern states to search for better feeding grounds toward the north.
Every year a few of these follow the Mississippi River up to the bottomlands around Grand Tower. So far this season my friends have spotted White-faced, Glossy, and White Ibis, and many Anhingas. Ibis have a distinct sickle-shaped bill and are either bronzy in color with a dark bill, or white with a pink bill. If you're already looking for the egrets from the Big Muddy Levee, you're in luck - this has been the prime viewing spot this season.
<h3 class="breakHead">About the author</h3>
Carbondale is my hometown, where I started birding 50 years ago. I spent an exciting 16 years as a bird guide, and have penned bird-finding books for five Arizona, California, and Illinois counties. I currently reside in Arizona, but visit my father in Carbondale often. You can reach me at HenryDetwiler@earthlink.net.