Since the 1980s, little egrets which breed in western France have started heading north. (If you are not familiar with the area, then please pop into reception for a map and directions to the viewing area.) The estuaries of Devon and Cornwall, Poole Harbour and Chichester Harbour hold some of the largest concentrations and they are also common in East Anglia. Other Cetti's warblers are singing at Wildlife Lookout, South Hide, the sluice bushes and North Marsh, signalling a welcome return of this distinctive song, while bearded tits have also been regular in these locations. For those visitors who are intrepid enough to spend their time seawatching, the rewards have been good this week, with sightings of great skuas, Arctic skuas, gannets, red-throated divers (some even in summer plumage), brent geese, eiders and common scoters, but for most visitors a grey seal is a more likely sighting on the sea. Stephen Moss @stephenmoss_tv. There have been five nests of cattle egrets on site, producing 11 youngsters. With this in mind, this week's star species is one that remains a rare visitor at Minsmere for now, but is likely to become much more frequent in years to come: the cattle egret. SC037654. Egrets have only recently started colonising from southern Europe, and now three species can be found across the UK, right up into Scotland: Cattle, great white, and little egrets. With more than 5700 species still to choose from, i could, in theory, continue with these blogs for another 110 years - but even though many people refer to me as part of the furniture at Minsmere, i don't think I'll be around that long! The first in 2007 saw over 200 arriving throughout Britain and Ireland and resulted in successful breeding in the Somerset Levels in 2008. In, 1891, the society published its first leaflet, entitled ‘Destruction of Ornamental-Plumaged Birds’, with the aim to save the egret population by informing wealthy women of the environmental damage of using feathers for fashio. All three egret species are fish eaters. Little egrets have characteristic tufts of white feathers on the back of their heads. In fact, it has often been possible to see five different species of heron at Island Mere this week, with regular sightings of little egret, grey heron and bittern as well as another scarce species: great white egret. In the 1940s they suddenly began to expand their range, colonising both Australia and northern South America. They all have bright white feathers, and the cattle egrets have gingery fronts and heads. Cattle egrets have only just started to breed in the UK and are less widespread, not usually seen in Scotland. Ian I used to see a lot of Cattle Egrets when I used to live in Spain. It roosts at Island Mere and spends much of the day feeding among the cattle at Eastbridge. Yesterday 4 Spoonbills apparently flew through. Later they colonised Central America, most Caribbean Islands, southern parts of the USA, New Zealand and parts of central Europe. The first redwings and fieldfares are slowly starting to arrive and a male brambling has been on the feeders this week. We spend 90% of net income on conservation, public education and advocacy, The RSPB is a member of BirdLife International. Up to four pintails can be seen among the hundreds of teals, wigeons, gadwalls, amllards and shovelers on the Scrape. Cattle Egret, Ringstead GP, 9th June 2019 (Mike Alibone) Formerly a very rare vagrant, Cattle Egret has become a more regular sight in the UK in recent years, following several large influxes. The cattle egret in the photo arrived at Minsmere last week. In winter you can regularly see Bitterns nowadays. They often spend time close to livestock and grab … The most common egret you will now see in the UK is the little egret. Slightly smaller but much rarer than the little egret, cattle egrets are visiting the UK in increasing numbers. Several pairs bred in England last year, and this autumn there has been an unprecedented count of 115 cattle egrets in Somerset, so it looks likely that they will follow the little egret and soon become a regular sight around cattle-grazed wetlands. RSPB Scotland's Molly Martin shares five facts about egrets. They are slightly smaller and stockier than the much more familiar little egret and have a yellow bill. All three of these egret species are long legged, wading birds, with long necks and beaks which enable them to fish. This proved to be a record count for Minsmere. Cattle egrets - arguably the world's most successful bird - have bred in Britain for the very first time. A few siskins and crossbills have spotted flying over, while one or two late swallows continue to pass overhead. Occasionally Cattle Egrets turn up, and some even stay to breed. As this range expansion has continued, they began arriving in the UK more frequently and eventually nested for the first time in Somerset in 2008. Great white egrets have also expanded their range northerly, from their native home of southern Europe. SC037654, Minsmere requires membership for participation - click to join. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Bubulcus, although some authorities regard two of its subspecies as full species, the western cattle egret and the eastern cattle egret. Now, almost a thousand pairs breed here each year! As well as the herons, there have been regular otter sightings, calling water rails, several bearded tits, a singing Cetti's warbler, up to six marsh harriers and good numbers of gadwalls, shovelers and mallards. Cattle egrets have one of the widest distributions of any birds, and are rapidly expanding their range in many areas. They are widespread throughout Africa and the Indian sub-continent, as well as many parts of southern Europe. The red deer rut well underway, and the action can be watched from the Westleton heath footpath - with the added bonus of stone-curlew, woodlark and Dartford warbler in the same area. The most recent estimate was about 1000 birds, so nothing spectacular yet, but we think this flock may be increasing so we're trying to confirm numbers and locations in the next few days. I'm sure that I'll come to these in due course, but as we have now run out of these challenge sheets, I'll be selecting from the full list of Minsmere species for my weekly species of the week blog. 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