As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Tuesday, 2 August 2016

Rare Great White spotted at Conwy RSPB reserve


09:02, 19 JUL 2016

Bird Notes columnist Julian Hughes of RSPB Conwy reveals what birds have been spotted in the past week and where to go birding in the coming days

Swimmers need not fear. This Great White is an Egret. The size of a Grey Heron, its bright yellow, dagger-shaped bill positively shone in my binoculars at RSPB Conwy.

We are used to seeing Little Egrets along the North Wales coast, with their black bills and legs, but the Great White is a less frequent visitor.

But where the Little Egret has blazed a trail, now nesting in heronries across the region, will Great White Egret follow?

The first pair to nest in Britain raised chicks in a Somerset reedbed in 2012 and, while its habitat needs are different to its smaller cousin, it is only 20 years since the first UK nesting Little Egrets; they have since spread far and wide.

The Great White Egret at RSPB Conwy was just the start of an excellent Monday, with Redstart, Greenshank, Green Sandpiper and Hobby seen here.



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