Coastal bird sighting in Blue Point

A rare creature captured by historical society President, Mary Bailey, in Blue Point features a heron on the Great South Bay.

Herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the fam- ily Ardeidae, with 74 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Egrets do not form a biologically distinct group from herons, and tend to be named differently because they are mainly white or have decorative plumes in breeding plumage. Herons, by evolutionary adaptation, have long beaks.