If you have watched Great Egrets or Great Blue Herons, you probably noticed that their flight is slow but powerful. An interesting fact is that their wingbeats can be timed at about two per second and they cruise along at about 25 MPH. They are a dazzling sight in many wetlands in North America.

We can be glad that we have the Great Egret among us today, as they were hunted nearly to extinction for their plumes in the late nineteenth century. This brought about some of the first laws to protect birds.