Hi i was at wallasea island this morning and think i saw a great egret; black feet anyway. i didn't note the bill colour and until i read an earlier post here i didn't realise that was an identifying feature- so was this definitely a great egret or could it have been juvenile little egret?. many thanks
I think it's quite difficult for us to tell you what you saw without much detail.
The Great Egret is quite a big bird (almost as large as a Grey Heron) but size can be difficult to judge if there's nothing with which to compare it. Most of the year it has a yellow bill as below.
But beware, during the breeding season the bill can turn dark.
You are quite right Little Egrets have yellow feet and are smaller than Great Egrets.
However, if they've been paddling in mud the yellow feet may not be so obvious.
Hope this helps but ultimately it's down to you to decide what you saw.
PS I should add, Great Egrets are seen at Leighton Moss north of you so both species are perfectly possible.