From DVOC's
Delaware Valley Birds "Drastically declining. Still common
near Delaware City, DE and Salem County, NJ. Overshoots inland in late
March and April."
Habitat
Pond and Lake edges; agricultural pastures
Status and Distribution
Uncommon, scarce and highly localized summer resident. Seem to be on
the decline
Range
Eastern North America. Winters in southern parts of US.
Best locations
Southern New Jersey in Salem County and near Cape May Courthouse. In
Delaware they bred on Pea Patch Island and is the states most numerous
heron!
Best time to see them
May through September
History / Records
The most recent species to colonize our area. It reached Florida in
the 1940’s and our area by the mid 1950’s with breeding
records shortly thereafter. Though their numbers have fluctuated and
they are sporadic in our area, this is a good example of natural range
expansion – worldwide in this case. First bred in Cape May County,
NJ in 1958. In PA the first record dates to 1956 and by 1975 they were
breeding. First DE recorded in 1954 and first bred in 1962.
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