little egret

[mel b3]

i was standing at work this morning at around 6.10 am, when a white heron like bird flew  directly over the top of me , my first reaction was egret , ive just done a quick google and come up with little egret . this was in dudley , in the west midlands , is it likely that my bird id was right , or was it some kind of small albino heron ?.

[TIGHTCHOKE]

Yes they've been here for years.

[chrisjpainter]

Spot on sir, good work. Plenty of them about these days; they've colonised the UK over the last 20 or so years.

 

[mel b3]

well im double chuffed , it was a first for me , and a real surprise ,its made my day .

[JDog]

It sounds like an Egret but it may not be the one you think it is. If it was the same size as a Heron (you did not specify size) it may be another type. Look them up for a good match.

[panoma1]

Coincidentally an Egret flew over my house about 6pm on Wednesday!.....First one I’ve seen locally, though I’ve seen them in many other areas, mainly estuarine!

[Mice!]

First time I spotted one I was so chuffed thinking they would be really rare, they weren't but it was still the first I had seen. 

[chrisjpainter]

14 minutes ago, Mice! said:

First time I spotted one I was so chuffed thinking they would be really rare, they weren't but it was still the first I had seen. 

Then it's worth the chuffingness; who cares if it's common? It's not been common to you! And they're lovely birds. They are frequently 'best bird' on my trips. Well, when lockdown allows them...

[JKD]

Seen them regularly in Kent, along and in the margins of the river Stour, in the quiet areas near Chilham and surrounding area. Very elegant looking birds and very conspicuous 🙂

[mel b3]

1 hour ago, JDog said:

It sounds like an Egret but it may not be the one you think it is. If it was the same size as a Heron (you did not specify size) it may be another type. Look them up for a good match.

ive just had another good google , and im pleased to say that it was definitely a little egret.

49 minutes ago, Mice! said:

First time I spotted one I was so chuffed thinking they would be really rare, they weren't but it was still the first I had seen. 

this , i thought id spotted something really rare ,  it was still a fantastic sight though.

[Mice!]

1 hour ago, chrisjpainter said:

Then it's worth the chuffingness; who cares if it's common? It's not been common to you! And they're lovely birds. They are frequently 'best bird' on my trips. Well, when lockdown allows them...

Certainly was, I spotted my first Osprey last week, just a glimpse but I new what it was. But unfortunately it was hit by a truck on the M6 absolutely gutted, but for the lockdown I'm sure loads of people would have been out looking at it.

1 hour ago, mel b3 said:

ive just had another good google , and im pleased to say that it was definitely a little egret.

this , i thought id spotted something really rare ,  it was still a fantastic sight though.

It stopped me dead, up in a tree perfectly white against the leaves, fantastic bird, makes you wonder how they survive as they must stand out wherever they go.

[KFC]

In a part of Grafham Water called Savages Creek it is like floating down an African river with the trees full of them.

[Lampwick]

This got me thinking, when is an invasive species treated as a threat?

Sacred Ibis, Ringed Neck Parakeet! 

[JDog]

It is too late to do anything about the Parakeet but not the Sacred Ibis. If those things become established the waterfowl in that area will suffer.

[washerboy]

Loads around here, Doncaster /Selby area. They take some getting close to, nothing like the herons I've seen while fishing. Swooping down to beg for fish 

[chrisjpainter]

36 minutes ago, Lampwick said:

This got me thinking, when is an invasive species treated as a threat?

Sacred Ibis, Ringed Neck Parakeet! 

Invasive simply means a species that got here by non-natural (human) means, whether deliberately or accidentally. 

Your classic invasives - grey squirrels, mink and zebra mussels - were brought here by humans and cause a lot of damage to native wildlife, so it's easy to see them as 'invasive'. They benefit to the detriment of local wildlife even though they shouldn't be there.

It's a bit complicated when there's no specific evidence that they're causing ecological damage. They may have found an ecological niche that was hitherto unfilled and doesn't impact other species detrimentally, like the little owl. Technically it's an invasive species but does it really matter?

Then you get things like the Glossy Ibis, arriving here through a process of natural colonisation. They will never be classed as invasive, because humans didn't bring them here, but they might be put on the pest species list if it's clear that they're causing detrimental damage and that controlling them won't result in extinction. 

We like to talk in terms of 'natural range' but for an island nation this only really makes sense for mammalian species, as they can't get here except via non-natural means. a natural range simply means is it natural for the species to be here? UK wetlands tick all the boxes for Glossy Ibis now and they're getting here through natural behaviour. The idea of historical range makes more sense, but if you're looking to pause the ecological clock at historical ranges, at what point in history do you do it? Whenever you pick, you're gonna have to kill a lot of stuff or introduce a lot of stuff to do it!

[JDog]

What about the ones that escaped from a wildlife park in Cumbria?

The owner was fined I believe for allowing a non native species to escape from captivity. 

[chrisjpainter]

 

31 minutes ago, JDog said:

What about the ones that escaped from a wildlife park in Cumbria?

The owner was fined I believe for allowing a non native species to escape from captivity. 

Yeah they'd count as an invasive and should be rounded up and removed. They're your classic escapee invasive. Shoot the lot and put their heads on stakes as a warning to other Sacreds. Natural spread of Sacreds are on a list of birds not wanted to start colonising.

[Lampwick]

How are the Wallabies classed? 

[chrisjpainter]

11 minutes ago, Lampwick said:

How are the Wallabies classed? 

Awkwardly! 

On the Isle of Man, technically they're an invasive species. Non native and here because of humans. However they seem to be filling the same ecosystem role as deer, absent from the island today but present historically, so aren't doing detrimental harm to other wildlife. Right now, the cost of a total eradication outweighs any potential benefit to wildlife, so there they stay happily bounding around. And they're cute and fluffy and tourists probably quite like them. What the private shooting regulations are on them, I don't know!

[Houseplant]

I enjoy telling people here in NZ that rabbits aren't native to the UK 😀

There is a lot of discussion in my part of the world about native vs naturalised vs invasive vs non-invasive vs game vs pest animals. We go round and round in circles. The green movement want all indigenous species gone including deer and trout. It's ridiculous. Stamping hedgehogs to death is not only socially accepted, but commended! There is no way our environment can be returned to pre-European times and even if it could, most people seem to conveniently overlook the fact that the most invasive species is humans! 

By the way, I hear wallaby are fine eating, but haven't tried them myself. Every time I have the opportunity to shoot one, I'm too concerned about the noise scaring off deer. 

[washerboy]

29 minutes ago, chrisjpainter said:

Awkwardly! 

On the Isle of Man, technically they're an invasive species. Non native and here because of humans. However they seem to be filling the same ecosystem role as deer, absent from the island today but present historically, so aren't doing detrimental harm to other wildlife. Right now, the cost of a total eradication outweighs any potential benefit to wildlife, so there they stay happily bounding around. And they're cute and fluffy and tourists probably quite like them. What the private shooting regulations are on them, I don't know!

I havnt seen my local one in 18 months, I reported it to a wildlife park but it couldn't have escaped and crossed 2 motorways and two tidal rivers. 

[JDog]

On 25/04/2020 at 11:53, Lampwick said:

How are the Wallabies classed? 

Marsupials.

[oldypigeonpopper]

hello, last time i saw a little egret was many many years ago in the estuary off the coast of west sussex, on a nature trail in the pretty village of Bosham

[norfolk dumpling]

Little egrets are regulars here in Sth Norfolk. I live near a small river and water medows and egrets are frequent and welcome visitors. Startlingly white when they roost in trees nearby. On the minus side I've heard say they are partial to our frogs and newts and are having a detrimental impact.