<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3AiP0C_0wF7bVoG00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3AiP0C_0wF7bVoG00" width="800" height="566" ><figcaption>Photo by Don Paquin</figcaption></figure>Please Support Local Advertisers122Running with Egrets by Rebecca PughIf you are running on Jeffreys Neck past the split, look to the left side of the street — to the left of the marsh that is there — and see if you spot the 50 or so great egrets and snowy egrets roosting in the trees.Great egrets have a yellow bill and black feet, and snowy egrets have a black bill and yellow feet. Both are large-sized hunting birds, although the snowies are a little smaller than the greats.When they fly, their feet are straight out behind them. Soon, they will have migrated to the southeastern states, Central America, or the West Indies.Great and snowy egrets were hunted in the 19th century; their feathers were used in the millinery trade to adorn hats. Hunters killed nesting egrets because breeding time is when the feathers are the most beautiful. To attack an adult bird on a nest, though, is to leave the babies orphaned. The population of egrets dropped by 95%.Minna Hall and Harriet Hemenway, cousins and best friends from Massachusetts, came from abolitionist families. In the spirit of their families’ advocacy, they became early environmental activists after the Civil War, hosting teas for the people who might have bought the hats adorned with plumes.Hall and Hemenway committed their lives to the work of establishing legislation — first in Massachusetts and then in the United States — to save the egrets, and more broadly, to stop the hunting of migratory birds. It was this legislation that saved snowy and great egrets from extinction.Today, the egrets in the Ipswich marshes are descended from the 5% that survived the 19th century. In 1918, the Migratory Bird Act was passed by Congress, thanks to Hemenway and Hall. This legislation permanently protected most North American bird species.Their vision, also, was to set aside open space, and they helped to buy land in the name of a new society. Today, the Audubon Society is reckoning with the person of John James Audubon, who held people in slavery. The conservation movement started by two women from Massachusetts, however, undertakes justice among the world’s diverse races today as well as advocacy for diverse species.For egrets, the primary challenge today is habitat destruction along their corridors of migration. To support egrets, we do well to take a page from their book and work for undeveloped open space and wild space.So, if you are running out by the wetlands along Jeffrey’s Neck, and you see those tall white birds, enjoy their feathers from afar and be a bit of a citizen scientist: Yellow bill and black feet? Great egrets. Black bill and yellow feet? Snowy egrets. Descended from survivors through the advocacy of two Massachusetts activists.You are running with egrets, great and snowy, and you are lucky they — and you — are alive.Rebecca Pugh, author of “Running With Birds,” is a storyteller, musician, and runner. Her training comes from Harriet Hemenway, Harriet Tubman, Jim Berry, and her aunt, Pam Goff. Her research begins with “All About Birds” at the Cornell Ornithological Labs.<h2>Newsletter</h2>Would you like your week wrapped up? Sign up for our Friday newsletters for a look back and a look ahead. We won't sell (or give away) your email address.The Ipswich Local News is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. We can only operate with your assistance.Instead of making a one-time donation, please consider a recurring contribution. You can select whatever amount you wish.Please consider a monthly donation of $10.But support us at whatever level makes you comfortable. Every little helps.</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

Egrets are fishing in the Great Marsh, storing up fat for their migration south

If you are running on Jeffreys Neck past the split, look to the left side of the street — to the left of the marsh that is there — and see if you spot the 50 or so great egrets and snowy egrets roosting in the trees. Great...