A second Little egret

07 Tuesday Mar 2023

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Egretta garzetta, Little egret

Once upon a time the Little egret (Egretta garzetta) was a common bird in Britain, then became extinct (probably due to hunting and climate change), and is now becoming common again, though we don’t usually see them very often in my bit of south Wales. So, imagine my delight yesterday when I saw my second of the year at my local country park. I spotted a distinctive white blob from the opposite side of one of the lakes and hightailed it around to where the Little egret was sitting in a tree. Unfortunately, the bird was almost invisible amongst the dense trees and impossible to photograph clearly. So, today’s photograph is of Little egret number one, seen flying over one of the park’s outer fields back on 26 January. Here’s hoping we see more of these gorgeous birds as their numbers continue to increase.

230307 little egret

Little egrets, again

22 Thursday Feb 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

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Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cuckmere Haven, Egretta garzetta, Little egret, Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, Winchelsea Beach

It seems Little egrets (Egretta garzetta) are rather partial to southern England as I saw several during my holiday in East Sussex last week, at Rye Harbour Nature Reserve and in the fields behind Winchelsea Beach.

180222 Little egrets (1)

We also get Little egrets in Wales, of course, and I’ve blogged about them before, when there were two visiting a Cardiff lake last July, but I was delighted to get much closer to one particular bird last Saturday at Cuckmere Haven. The weather was glorious, and people were out in droves to enjoy the almost-summery day, but this lovely little bird simply moved slightly further away as they passed, then returned to the well-trodden grassy path to continue probing for earthworms and miscellaneous insects.

180222 Little egrets (5)

Little egrets

09 Sunday Jul 2017

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, parks

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Tags

birding, birds, birdwatching, British birds, Egretta garzetta, Little egret

After reading reports of a Great white egret being seen at Roath Park lake last Wednesday evening, I decided a visit was in order for Thursday. Unfortunately, the Great white had flown the coop but I did manage to see Little egrets, which was almost as good.

170709 Little egrets (3)

Twenty years ago these birds were a rarity in Britain but, with the warming of our climate, the Little egret (Egretta garzetta) has been expanding its European range and was added to the British breeding list in 1996. They are still not that common in Cardiff so to see two birds together at the lake was a treat. (Apologies for the photos: the birds were a bit distant for my lens and their bright white makes them difficult to photograph in full sun.)