Rare Eurasian great egret excites Petersburg birders

When Matt Gerrits spotted a brilliant white bird wading through the shallows at Blind Slough on a December 5, he initially thought it might be a rare white heron. A closer look revealed something equally surprising: a great egret, thousands of miles from its usual range.

Gerrits, knowing Petersburg birder Brad Hunter's passion for birds, immediately sent him a message about the unusual sighting.

"Lucky for me, there is now cell coverage at the swan observatory," Hunter said he rushed out the road toward the possible egret, "and sure as heck, it was a great egret, a pure white bird nearly as ta...