Great Day

Wowsers!!!

Great White Egret at Kelk

The larger relative of Little Egret, these birds have become increasingly regular in Britain over the last couple of decades as their natural range spreads west across Europe. Just a few decades ago their range in Europe was around the Danube delta, but now there are significant numbers as close as Netherlands and France. In England a single pair bred in Somerset in 2012, surely the first of many.

In Yorkshire there has been a very slow increase with only a handful being recorded before the end of the 1990s, while in the last decade there have been around 5 per year. Most of the well known local reserves have been visited by this magnificent and elegant species, including Tophill Low and Hornsea Mere. Indeed two different birds have been seen at Tophill Low on and off through October, and presumably the Kelk bird is one of these, wandering.

Weekend write-up to follow. Egret aside it wasn't too exciting, perhaps in part due to the unseasonably warm weather.