[Length 24 in. Wingspan 41 in.]

This Snowy Egret was photographed showing off its diagnostic "golden slippers" as it was springing into flight along the road to Moore's Beach, New Jersey. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm ED f4.5 lens on Kodachrome 200 film. (Date: June 1988)

[Length 24 in. Wingspan 41 in.]

This Snowy Egret was photographed at Brigantine NWR, New Jersey. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm EDAF f4.0 lens on Kodachrome 200 film. (Date: April 1984)

[Length 24 in. Wingspan 41 in.]

This immature Snowy Egret (denoted by the greenish yellow stripes on the otherwise black legs) was photographed at Cape May, New Jersey. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm EDAF f4.0 lens on Kodachrome 200 film. (Date: October 1982)

[Length 24 in. Wingspan 41 in.]

This Snowy Egret was photographed at Bolivar Peninsula, TX. Photo taken with a Nikkor 70-200mm EDAF-S VR f2.8 lens (EFL=277mm) on a Nikon D200 camera. (Date: April 23, 2006)

[Length 24 in. Wingspan 41 in.]

This Snowy Egret was photographed at Anahuac NWR, TX. Photo taken with a Nikkor 70-200mm EDAF-S VR f2.8 lens + Nikkor TC14E II 1.4x Teleconverter (EFL=420mm) on a Nikon D200 camera. (Date: May 5, 2008)

[Length 24 in. Wingspan 41 in.]

This Snowy Egret was photographed at Isla Blanca County Park, South Padre Island, TX. Photo taken with a Nikkor 70-200mm EDAF-S VR f2.8 lens + Nikkor TC14E II 1.4x Teleconverter (EFL=420mm) on a Nikon D200 camera. (Date: August 27, 2008)

[Length 24 in. Wingspan 38 in.]

Common Eiders occur in the far north of North America, Europe, and Siberia. While the males of all four species of Eider ducks have some kind of black-and-white pattern on the body, only the male Common Eider has a black-and-white head pattern. Females are a drab brown so they "blend in" on the nest while they incubate their eggs. In North America Common Eiders breed in the high Arctic coastal regions of Canada and Alaska. They winter along the western coasts of Alaska and Canada and the eastern coasts of Canada and the US south to New Jersey. These drake "Eastern" Common Eiders were photographed along the coast near Cape Ann, Massachusetts. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm ED f4.5 lens on Ektachrome 200 film pushed to 800. (Date: February 1987)

[Length 24 in. Wingspan 38 in.]

This winter plumaged drake "Eastern" Common Eider was photographed at the famous 8th Street jetty in Barnegat, New Jersey. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm ED f4.5 lens on Ektachrome 200 film pushed to 800. (Date: February 1982)