The Little Egret

nce a rare sight, the little egret has been gradually expanding its foothold in the UK since the 1990s.

Initial sightings of this small white Mediterranean heron were largely confined to coastal southern England. But the elegant newcomer has worked its way steadily northwards, and during the last few years has popped up increasingly frequently in the Dales.

The little egret’s diet consists mainly of small fish, amphibians and crustaceans, so it’s no surprise that it is drawn to stretches of open water such as the flooded quarries at Nosterfield and Bolton-on-Swale Lake nature reserves.

The bird can also be seen elsewhere, though. Small groups are regularly spotted along quiet waterways such as Gilling Beck, pottering about in the neighbouring pastures and arable fields.

It may be a novelty for modern birdwatchers but the little egret was relatively common in Britain until the late Middle Ages. And not just in the South; it is recorded that large numbers of egrets were consumed at a banquet celebrating the accession of the Archbishop of York in 1465. Unfortunately a combination of over-enthusiastic hunting and the trend towards cooler summers between 1300 and 1850 (the so-called ‘Little Ice Age’) drove the UK population to extinction. However, now that global temperatures are rising again the little egret appears keen to reclaim its former haunts.