16/07/2019
Western
Cattle Egret has bred in three counties for the
first time this year, as the species' seemingly inevitable – yet somewhat
drawn out – colonisation continues. Nesting birds have been confirmed in
Essex, Hampshire and Northamptonshire for the first time, with the species
only previously breeding in Cheshire and Somerset.
The
species has increased significantly during the past decade. In winter 2007/8,
an influx numbering some 200 individuals resulted in at least two pairs breeding on the Somerset Levels in
summer 2008. Another large influx occured in winter 2015/6 and, the
following summer, at least one pair nested in Cheshire.
Despite
this, no nests were publicised last year (though it's thought some birds bred),
perhaps symptomatic of a somewhat staccato colonisation that has stopped and
started over the past decade, rather unlike that of Little
Egret in the late 1990s. However, following another influx
during the winter of 2018/19, Western Cattle Egret has spread into at least
three new counties, suggesting the most successful breeding season ever for the
species in the UK.
At
Chigborough Lakes in Essex, a pair has raised four chicks that, on 8 July,
looked set to fledge. In Hampshire, the anticipation of as many as seven nests
at Langstone Mill Pond in Chichester/Langstone Harbour (a site of
significance during the early days of Little Egret colonisation) was
confirmed on 5 July.
It's
likely that more breeding success will be confirmed in the coming weeks and
months, and it seems plausible that, after an up-and-down decade since the
first ever breeding in 2008, Western Cattle Egret may now be here to stay.
