Although we are living in what has been called the sixth mass extinction, the perseverance of many species against formidable odds is both astounding and hopeful.
About 100 years ago, the tide was just beginning to turn for the Snowy Egret. These beautiful birds had been hunted mercilessly for their feathers. The long plumes – particularly those grown during the breeding season – were highly prized in the fashion world. The trend became so extreme that in some cases, hats were adorned with egret wings or even entire birds.
Snowy Egrets, along with their larger relatives the Great Egrets, typically nest in large colonies, some including hundreds of nests. With the birds concentrated together at the time when their feathers were most luxurious and desirable, the birds were easily killed by hunters. The adults were skinned, and the chicks left to die.
Although the Snowy Egret was considered very common before its feathers came into fashion, it didn’t take long for this sort of mass killing to seriously impact their population. By the end of the 19th century, the Snowy Egret was seriously threatened, along with a number of other birds that was also being harvested for their feathers.
Luckily, two women – Harriet Hemenway and her cousin Minna Hall – set out to save the Snowy Egret. They started by hosting parties to encourage the boycott of feathers. Along the way, they also launched the Massachusetts Audubon Society, which eventually grew to a national organization that helped create the first National Wildlife Refuge and the first laws protecting wildlife. In 1918, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act was signed. To this day, it remains one of the strongest laws protecting wild birds.
Although we don’t have records from St. Martin during the Snowy Egret’s most difficult years, it seems probable that this species was absent or relatively rare during this period. S. J. Kruythoff cites the bird in his 1938 book, but the first official record of the species on St. Martin comes from 1952.
Today, of course, they are common on the island and throughout their range, which includes a great part of South America and much of North America. On St. Martin, they are plentiful and present in virtually all of our wetlands. Still, many challenges may face them going forward, including pollution, habitat destruction, droughts and other extreme weather. Let’s do what we can to make sure they aren’t driven to the brink again.
By Mark Yokoyama
