Hi all, I’ve just signed up to this chat sight as when out for a Sunday stroll just now along the Yeading Brook in Harrow (London) I spotted what I believe to be a Great White Egret. I spotted it at the start of the Yeading Brook trail very close to North Harrow underground station. Unfortunately there was little chance of me not disturbing it due to the small narrow size of the parkland and it flew off. Roughly 5km further along the trail, closer towards Ruislip I spotted either the same Great White Egret again or possibly its mate! I’ve looked at the RSPB page and apparently there are only 35 of these birds in the uk. I noticed the water in the Yeading Brook looked clear and clean. Maybe with all the pollution in other more major and rural waterways these birds are seeking refuge in these more urban backwaters? Anyway those with the power please report and put pressure on Harrow and Hillingdon councils to do all they can to protect them if they are indeed around the area. Many thanks.
A pair of Great White Egrets bred/nested with success in North East England in 2023! You never know elsewhere as well!!
Regards,
Ian.
Hi Gwil, sorry to disapoint you but this is a Lttle Egret. Still a nice bird to see in an urban environment. Note the bill colour which is black and the yellow feet. GWE's have a yellow bill and are almost the size of a Grey Heron.
Having said that GWE's are colonising the UK and breeding succesfully. A sign of our warming climate perhaps?
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Tony
My Flickr Photostream
TeeJay said:Hi Gwil, sorry to disapoint you but this is a Lttle Egret. Still a nice bird to see in an urban environment. Note the bill colour which is black and the yellow feet. GWE's have a yellow bill and are almost the size of a Grey Heron. Having said that GWE's are colonising the UK and breeding succesfully. A sign of our warming climate perhaps?
While I totally agree that this is a Little Egret, length of neck, posture and yellow feet - I is true that Great White Egrets have yellow bills but only when breeding, so juveniles and non breeding birds would have a black bill. However, as TeeJay points out the other factors make this a Little Egret.
Thanks all, it did seem as big as a Grey Heron at the time, but easy to get carried away when there is little in the vicinity for scale. The tuft of hair / feather on the back was a distinguishing feature, is this something all Little Egrets have, I notice there are photos of them both with and without this?
All 3 together