Bird

Snowy Egret

Egretta thula

Lives in Virginia all year and nests here. Found in 90 of 133 counties and cities, across 14 habitats.

Here: All year
Nesting: Nests here
Range: 90 of 133 counties and cities
Habitats: 14

Male Snowy Egret, whole bird — **Male**. (c) Wes Copas, some rights reserved (CC BY). CC BY. iNaturalist photo 586152157. iNaturalist large derivative; no local crop or retouch.

At a glance

Group: Birds
Here: All year
Nesting: Nests here
Range: 90 of 133 counties and cities
Habitats: 14
Habitat models: Summer, Winter

Where it lives

The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.

Habitats in Virginia 14

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 14

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall; Gulf and Atlantic Coastal Plain Swamp Systems; Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Tidal Wooded Swamp; Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Tidal Wooded Swamp; Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Basin Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Taxodium/Nyssa Modifier; Southern Piedmont/Ridge and Valley Upland Depression SwampWilliam McIlvaine, The Chickahominy Swamp (1862): wind-tossed swamp trees standing in dark water under a storm. Chickahominy Swamp, VirginiaThe Chickahominy Swamp LCCN2004661405, William McIlvaine (1813-1867), 1862. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal dunes and beaches

Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Northern Sandy Beach; Unconsolidated Shore (Beach/Dune); Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Sandy Beach; Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain Interdunal Wetland

Coastal tidal marshes (salinity not stated)

Tidal marshes of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts where the source does not say whether the water is fresh, brackish or salt. A stated salinity files the marsh under freshwater tidal marshes or salt and brackish marshes instead.

SummerWinter

Depression ponds and limesinks

Shallow ponds in Coastal Plain depressions, such as limesinks and the ponds in some Carolina bays, that rise and fall with the seasons.

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Depression Pondshore

Disturbed and introduced wetlands

Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.

SummerWinter

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Forest Modifier; Southern Piedmont Large Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; Southern Piedmont Small Floodplain and Riparian Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Brownwater River Floodplain Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest; South-Central Interior Large Floodplain

Freshwater tidal marshes

Marshes along tidal rivers where the water is fresh but rises and falls with the tide.

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Freshwater Marsh; Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Fresh and Oligohaline Tidal Marsh

Hardwood and oak flatwoods

Flat, poorly drained uplands and terraces with oaks, sweetgum and sometimes loblolly pine, wet in winter and dry in summer, but neither a floodplain nor a swamp.

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Oak Dominated Modifier

Pine flatwoods

Flat, sandy Coastal Plain pine woodlands, wetter than sandhills and denser than savannas.

SummerWinterCentral Atlantic Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods

Pine savannas

Open, fire-kept longleaf pine stands over grasses and wildflowers on wet to moist sandy soil.

SummerWinterCentral Atlantic Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods

Pocosins and bay forests

Dense evergreen shrub wetlands and bay forests on wet, acid peat of the Coastal Plain.

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Peatland Pocosin; Atlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall

Ponds, lakes and their shores

Still water and its edges: ponds, lakes, millponds and reservoirs.

SummerWinterOpen Water (Fresh); Atlantic Coastal Plain Large Natural Lakeshore

Salt and brackish marshes

Coastal marshes flooded by salty or brackish tides.

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Salt and Brackish Marsh; Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Tidal Salt Marsh

Sounds, bays and tidal flats

Salt and brackish open water of sounds, bays and estuaries, with the mud and sand flats and seagrass beds that tides cover and uncover; the vegetated marsh is salt and brackish marshes.

SummerWinterOpen Water (Brackish/Salt)

Other habitats in its models (124)

Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Virginia. Those recorded in Virginia first, the rest by region.

Elsewhere in the South (54)

Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Indian River Lagoon Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Sea Island Beach Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Beach Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Wet Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Xeric River Dune Summer and winter.
Central Florida Herbaceous Pondshore Summer and winter.
Central Florida Herbaceous Seep Summer and winter.
Central Florida Pine Flatwoods Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Savanna and Wet Prairie Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loblolly-Hardwood Flatwoods Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Tidal Wooded Swamp Summer and winter.
Florida Big Bend Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
Florida Big Bend Salt-Brackish Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
Floridian Highlands Freshwater Marsh Summer and winter.
Louisiana Beach Summer and winter.
Lower Mississippi River Flatwoods Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
Mississippi River Bottomland Depression Summer and winter.
Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest Summer and winter.
Mississippi River Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
Mississippi Sound Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Pitch Pine Lowland Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
Ozark-Ouachita Riparian Summer and winter.
Red River Large Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
South Florida Bayhead Swamp Summer and winter.
South Florida Cypress Dome Summer and winter.
South Florida Dwarf Cypress Savanna Summer and winter.
South Florida Everglades Sawgrass Marsh Summer and winter.
South Florida Freshwater Slough and Gator Hole Summer and winter.
South Florida Mangrove Swamp Summer and winter.
South Florida Pine Flatwoods Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
South Florida Shell Hash Beach Summer and winter.
South Florida Wet Marl Prairie Summer and winter.
South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Flatwoods Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Wet Flatwoods Summer and winter.
Southeast Florida Beach Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Herbaceous Seepage Bog Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Hydric Hammock Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Cypress Dome Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Summer and winter.
Southwest Florida Beach Summer and winter.
Texas Coastal Bend Beach Summer and winter.
Upper Texas Coast Beach Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Large River Swamp Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Nonriverine Wet Hardwood Flatwoods Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer and winter.
Western Great Plains Floodplain Summer and winter.

Northeast (4)

Great Lakes Freshwater Estuary and Delta Summer.
Laurentian-Acadian Alkaline Conifer-Hardwood Swamp Summer.
Laurentian-Acadian Freshwater Marsh Summer.
North-Central Interior Wet Flatwoods Summer.

Midwest (6)

Great Plains Prairie Pothole Summer and winter.
Northern Great Lakes Coastal Marsh Summer.
Northwestern Great Plains Floodplain Summer and winter.
Northwestern Great Plains Riparian Summer and winter.
Western Great Plains Open Freshwater Depression Wetland Summer and winter.
Western Great Plains Saline Depression Wetland Summer and winter.

West (35)

California Central Valley Riparian Woodland and Shrubland Summer and winter.
Columbia Basin Foothill Riparian Woodland and Shrubland Summer.
Columbia Plateau Vernal Pool Summer.
Great Basin Foothill and Lower Montane Riparian Woodland and Shrubland Summer.
Inter-Mountain Basins Alkaline Closed Depression Summer.
Inter-Mountain Basins Greasewood Flat Summer, only within 120 m of water.
Inter-Mountain Basins Interdunal Swale Wetland Summer.
Inter-Mountain Basins Playa Summer.
Mediterranean California Serpentine Fen Summer and winter.
Mediterranean California Subalpine-Montane Fen Summer and winter.
North American Arid West Emergent Marsh Summer and winter.
North American Warm Desert Lower Montane Riparian Woodland and Shrubland Summer and winter.
North American Warm Desert Playa Summer and winter.
North American Warm Desert Riparian Mesquite Bosque Summer and winter.
North American Warm Desert Riparian Woodland and Shrubland Summer and winter.
North Pacific Bog and Fen Summer and winter.
North Pacific Hardwood-Conifer Swamp Summer and winter.
North Pacific Intertidal Freshwater Wetland Summer and winter.
North Pacific Lowland Riparian Forest and Shrubland Summer and winter.
North Pacific Montane Riparian Woodland and Shrubland Summer and winter.
North Pacific Shrub Swamp Summer and winter.
Northern California Claypan Vernal Pool Summer and winter.
Northern Rocky Mountain Conifer Swamp Summer and winter.
Northern Rocky Mountain Lower Montane Riparian Woodland and Shrubland Summer and winter.
Northern Rocky Mountain Wooded Vernal Pool Summer and winter.
Rocky Mountain Lower Montane Riparian Woodland and Shrubland Summer and winter.
Temperate Pacific Freshwater Aquatic Bed Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
Temperate Pacific Freshwater Emergent Marsh Summer and winter.
Temperate Pacific Freshwater Mudflat Summer and winter.
Temperate Pacific Intertidal Mudflat Summer and winter.
Temperate Pacific Montane Wet Meadow Summer and winter.
Temperate Pacific Tidal Salt and Brackish Marsh Summer and winter.
Western Great Plains Closed Depression Wetland Summer and winter.
Western Great Plains Riparian Woodland and Shrubland Summer and winter.
Willamette Valley Wet Prairie Summer and winter.

Land cover and other classes (25)

Acadian Salt Marsh and Estuary Systems Summer.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Forested Wetland Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Herbaceous Wetland Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Herbaceous Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Summer and winter, only within 120 m of water.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Depression Pondshore Summer and winter.
Great Lakes Coastal Marsh Systems Summer.
Laurentian-Acadian Swamp Systems Summer.
Lower Mississippi River Bottomland Depressions - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
Mediterranean California Eelgrass Bed Summer and winter.
Mississippi River Floodplain and Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
North Pacific Maritime Eelgrass Bed Summer and winter.
Open Water (Aquaculture) Summer and winter.
South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Herbaceous Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Bay/Gum Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Clethra Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Nupea Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Taxodium Modifier Summer and winter.
Unconsolidated Shore Summer and winter.
Unconsolidated Shore (Lake/River/Pond) Summer and winter.
Western Great Plains Depressional Wetland Systems Summer and winter.
Western Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.

All habitats

Seasons in Virginia

Year-round: nests here, in 8 of 133 counties and cities.
Migratory: does not nest here, in 90 of 133 counties and cities.

County or city

Also found in its main habitats

Its main habitats in Virginia, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.