Sunday 17 December 2017

I spent and hour and a half over at Nethergong this morning from 9am in the hope that the freezing conditions may have pushed a few birds into the area to be found. After parking up, I started my walk through the woods when I received a tweet from the owners alerting me that on there early morning walk, they had seen the Great White Egret. This bird seems to have settled in the Stour Valley / Nethergong area for the winter seemingly and it would be nice if it remains in the area for the new year. With the sun shining and the place to myself, I set off to hopefully find the Egret. Other birds noted on my way were c85 Lapwing in fields to the north, 1 Great spotted Woodpecker, 1 Green Woodpecker, 1 Kestrel, 3 Yellowhammer, 1 Siskin, 2 Reed Bunting, 1 Water Rail, 1 Kingfisher, 5 Mute Swan, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Goldcrest, 5 Long tailed Tit, 1 Bullfinch, 1 Jay and 1 Grey Wagtail. As I approached the area the Egret was last seen in, the Great White Egret saw me before I saw it and took flight but thankfully, landed nearby on the top of a tree. I decided if I was going to get some shots of it, I would need to get a little closer so using various trees and bushes, I was able to get within a distance to take a few shots. I half expected it to fly off again but it stayed in the tree for the next twenty minutes where it happily preened and kept an eye on me which allowed my now freezing hands to keep warm as I pressed the shutter button. After this time, it took off and went and landed in a tree further away next to a Grey Heron where I left it in peace. Hopefully with the area being quiet from most people, it will remain in the area but its certainly good to have a bird of this quality on the site.







Great White Egret

3 comments:

  1. A beautiful Great White Egret, I haven't seen one YET.

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    1. Many thanks Bob. Amazed it let me get quite close. A lovely wildlife encounter in the winter sunshine.

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  2. Given the colonization of the British Isles by Little Egret, and the more frequent reports of Great Egret, and even reports of Cattle Egrets, it makes you wonder whether you are set for another invader or two to take up permanent residence.

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