Photos: Flock prepares to leave as summer ends

As summer nears its conclusion, the egrets making their home at the rookery in Taylor’s Murphy Park will soon move on. These migratory birds arrive here each spring to add to their families, usually leaving by late-September, or early-October. 

Since we moved here in 2009, I’ve been fascinated with members of this protected species as they fill the air above the park in large numbers. Their aerial dances are remarkable. 

Thankfully, this year, though hot, has been better for the egrets. We’ve been blessed with a little more rain this summer, with fewer triple-digit days. The summer of 2023 was terrible. The absence of rain, combined with very hot days and nights, left the birds’ habitat in shambles. I recall going out to the park, watching as the birds meandered around the almost-empty lake, more mud than water. It was a disheartening sight. 

On my daily walks now, I pass through Murphy Park most mornings. The water level, while a little lower, is much better. 

Years ago, when I began to post photos from the rookery on my social media pages, a few Taylor residents balked, seeing the birds as a nuisance, leaving droppings in yards and on roofs all around town. For what it’s worth, we live less than a mile from the park and haven’t had one issue like the ones mentioned. I do like to remind folks that this rookery is a draw for quite a few photographers and birders, who travel from several areas of Texas to see them. Most of those visitors spend money in Taylor, a positive for the local economy. 

When the nesting egrets say goodbye, the park will continue to have permanent residents. Cattle egrets make their home around farms and cattle ranches year-round. The ducks, geese, cormorants, herons and camera-shy turtles are always around. 

But I’ll miss Taylor’s part-time avian residents, a visual treat for those of us who welcome them each year