I saw what can only be described as a white heron at Dunwich marshes in Suffolk, is this likely?
Hi klunk,
There are a couple of possibilities here. First of all, it *might* have been a heron with albinism, the condition where there is no pigmentation in the feathers. This however is really quite rare.
A better chance is that it is a Little Egret. These are smaller cousins of the heron and pure white in colour. They have become increasingly common in recent years and from being a rarity in the 1970's now have a sizeable breeding population in southern Britain.
A third possibility is that it might be a spoonbill, another all-white heron-like bird with a large flat and broad bill with a bulge on the end that gives it it's name.
Why not check out the RSPB's guide to birds on the website and see what you think? Below is the link to Little Egret, with links from there to heron and spoonbill.
http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/l/littleegret/index.asp
Reedbed, freshwater scrapes, saltmarsh and wet meadow. Frampton Marsh has it all! Come and pay us a visit soon.
hello,
it was as big as a Heron and I have researched it, turns out it was a Great Egret, there were 2 Egrets nearby and it was 2-3 times their size, thank you for your help, how rare are Great Egrets? I am going to try and get a photo later, regards.
David
Oooh nice. Great Egrets are also becoming somewhat more common (at least, I think they are getting reported more over the last few years), but will still attract interest. I haven't seen one yet for example. Would love to see what pictures you can take
Ok, I shall see what I can do, hopefully it will be around still, I shall be going later, watch this space.