Great egrets are now a common sight in the wetlands and swamps of the southeastern United States but this was not always the case. Because of their beautiful breeding plumage, egrets were hunted almost to extinction in the 19th and 20th centuries. Their feathers were collected and used in ladies fashionwear. The great egret made a comeback after early conservationists put a stop to the slaughter and protected its colonies; as a result, this bird became a symbol of the National Audubon Society.
The great egret can be found in marshes, ponds, shores, and along mud flats. It usually forages in rather open areas, such as in roadside ditches, along the edges of lakes, large marshes, shallow coastal lagoons and estuaries; also along rivers in wooded country. They usually nest in trees or shrubs near water, but sometimes they can also nest in thickets some distance from water.