The Great Egret has a fascinating history. I was lucky to get a good picture of this bird with its breeding plumage. The green around its eye is only present for a week. The Great Egret was almost hunted to extinction in the early 1900's. The plume feathers of this bird were worth more than the price of gold and were often used in ladies' hats. The Audubon Society helped put a stop to plume hunting in Florida. Plume hunters would go into rookeries and shoot the birds just for their feathers. Laws were enacted in the 1900's to protect this bird. The Ten Thousand Islands of Southwest Florida were a haven for such hunters. After the law was passed, a lot of the hunters went to Honduras to continue their hunting.
In 1902, Guy Bradley was one of the first Wardens in the Everglades hired to protect these wading birds. In 1905, Bradley was shot dead on a hot July day around Cape Sable. He was found in his boat a day later. Bradley's boat had drifted south of Cape Sable into Florida Bay near a small mangrove island. Today you can see the same mangrove island in Florida Bay. The island is now named Bradley Key, after Guy Bradley, the protector of Egret plumes and wildlife in the great Florida Everglades. Each time I see the Great Egret, I can't help but think of Guy Bradley and that small mangrove island that bears his name. Bradely Key./div>
