The Egret Tree

Egrets have become very important to my life ever since I moved to the burbs and started commuting. New Jersey gets a bad rap, and sometimes it deserves it, but I also get to see the sun rise over the bay every morning on my way to work, and still white egrets populating the marshlands. 


I had never spotted an egret in my town until, one day last September, I spotted them all. I found the place were the egrets go to sleep. They were perched on a few trees on a shore of small lake in my town, sandwiched between a 7-11 and a Quik Chek. Only in New Jersey.


They gather at dusk. You can see them flying overhead, larger than all the other birds in the sky, with their long legs stretched out behind them, commuting home from their day of standing around in the mud looking for food. These pictures were taken before the entire party had arrived. If you go at night, when it's harder to get a clear picture, you can find upwards of a hundred egrets, sleeping silently. Mr. SevPrez and I may be the only people who know they are there.