herons

Cattle Egret

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The Cattle Egret is a small Heron that, as its name suggests, is usually found near grazing animals. Only a few decades ago, Cattle Egrets were rare visitors to the UK, until a large influx over the winter of 2007/2008 saw over 200 birds arrive, mostly in south-west England. Numbers have been increasing ever since.

Adult Cattle Egrets in non-breeding plumage are pure white with dark legs and sturdy yellow bills. They have a relatively short, thick neck and a hunched posture, looking stockier than a Little Egret. In breeding plumage, they have orange-buff plumes creating patches on their back, breast, and head. Their bills become more orange and they have reddish-orange legs. Youngsters start with black bills that turn yellow in the first year.

Cattle Egrets follow grazing animals and catch the insects and small vertebrates that are disturbed by them. They will even remove ticks and flies from cattle and eat them. The positioning of their eyes gives them binocular vision, which is great for catching insects, but, because of this, means they can't feed in water like other Herons.

They nest in colonies, usually near bodies of water and often with other wading birds. Each breeding male establishes a territory and puts on an elaborate courtship display, spreading his wings and prancing from foot to foot. Once paired, mum and dad stay together for the breeding season. The nest is a platform of sticks in a tree or a shrub. Dad collects sticks (sometimes stealing them from other nests) and mum builds the nest using poo to stick the twigs together before lining it with softer, less stinky material. She lays 2-4 eggs which hatch after 24 days. Both parents feed the young by regurgitating food. The youngsters fledge at about 5 weeks old and become independent after 8 weeks. They won't breed themselves for 2 years.

The first pair of Cattle Egrets nested in England in 2008 and since then Cattle Egret numbers in Britain have been rising. The oldest Cattle Egret recorded in America was 17 years old, though normally they live for 7 or 8 years.

Their Latin name is 'bubulcus ibis' where 'bubulcus' is Latin for herdsman and 'ibis' is Latin for another white wading bird, the sacred Ibis, but was applied to the Cattle Egret in error. The Swedish explorer Fredrik Hasselqvist was persuaded by his Egyptian guide that the Cattle Egret was, in fact, the sacred Ibis of the ancients - when it wasn't. The English name is from it being an Egret and liking cattle. An older English name is the Buff-backed Heron from its breeding plumage.

White Stork

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The White Stork is the one that brings the babies in fairy tales. It rarely nests in Britain though visits here in the summer. It is a long-distance migrant wintering in Africa or India and breeding in Europe. Storks avoid crossing the Mediterranean Sea and detour via Turkey in the east, or the Straits of Gibraltar in the west, because the air thermals they need for soaring do not form over water. Fossils show Storks have been around for over 6 million years!

The White Stork is mainly white with black on its wings, long red legs and a long, pointed red bill. Males, females and youngsters look identical except the young Storks have duller bills. They don't get their full adult plumage until their second summer. Like a Crane, Storks fly with legs and necks extended and use thermals to soar. On migration, thousands will travel together.

A carnivore, the White Stork eats a wide range of animals, including insects, fish, amphibians, reptiles, small mammals and small birds. It takes most of its food from the ground or from shallow water. They hunt mainly during the day, swallowing small prey whole, but killing and then breaking larger prey apart first. Like Gulls, they are partial to a nice landfill site.

White Storks breed in loose colonies on open farmland with access to marshy areas, building a large stick nest in trees or on buildings. The nests are reused year after year. The male arrives first and picks the nest site (the bigger the better) and attracts a female who helps him finish it. Courtship involves head-shaking crouching displays and the clattering of beaks. Mum lays 4 eggs which hatch after 34 days in the order they were laid, giving the first chick a competitive edge over the others. Both parents feed the chicks by disgorging (sicking up) food into the nest. They may kill weaker chicks if food is scarce. The youngsters can fly after 60 days and continue to be fed for a further week or so. They won't breed themselves for 4 years. Other birds, like Sparrows and Starlings, will often nest within empty Stork nests.

Changes in farming methods and industrialisation saw the White Stork decline and disappear from Britain and parts of Europe in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Conservation and reintroduction programs across Europe have resulted in the White Stork resuming breeding in the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, and Sweden. Reintroduction programmes are also being tried here. However, this is difficult as Storks are highly social birds and won't establish themselves in an area unless they find other Storks already there. The oldest known wild White Stork lived for 39 years.

Their Latin name is 'ciconia ciconia' where 'ciconia' is Latin for 'stork'. Storks are divided into three broad groups: the Wood Storks, the Giant Storks, and the 'typical' Storks (like the White Stork).

Bittern

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Another very secretive reedbed bird. The booming call of a Bittern is unmistakable, like someone blowing across the top of a very large milk bottle. Despite its size, it is tricky to spot being a master of camouflage, you can look right at one and not know it's there until it blinks. Bitterns are loners and spend a lot of time standing still. When you do see one, it is magic.

The Bittern is brown, streaked with black and buff to match the reeds. It has a black crown, long dagger bill, and huge light green feet. It flies owl-like on broad rounded wings with its neck hunched up like a Heron's. When alarmed it points its bill skywards and sways to mimic reeds in the wind. The deep booming call is heard mainly between March and July, typically at dusk, and the low note can carry for up to 5km!

Bitterns eat mainly fish, especially eels. A bit of a cockney geezer. It will also snack on small birds and amphibians. It searches for food with the tip of its bill, which makes it vulnerable if the water freezes over and it can't get its bill through the ice. Many will die in a harsh winter.

Bitterns return to their breeding grounds in spring. The male Bittern defends a large territory and uses his booming call to attract one or more females. Once he has done his business, like a good East End lad, he leaves the missus to do everything. She makes a nest from a heap of dead reeds and lays 4-6 eggs which hatch after 25 days. The youngsters leave the nest after 15 days and are cared for by mum until they can fly 50 days later. The youngsters disperse from the breeding ground in late summer and may visit smaller reedbeds and riverside marshes as they move about to find their own patch. Young Bitterns can breed after 1 year and their average lifespan is 10 years.

Many Bitterns stay within their territories, though some northern Bitterns will move south in autumn and be joined by others from northern Europe. There are 160 breeding pairs in Britain with numbers swelling to 600 in winter. There are about 29,000 Bitterns across all of Europe. The drainage of wetlands and the removal of eggs by egg collectors nearly wiped Bitterns out in Britain. In 1997 there were just 11 males left. Thankfully, their numbers are now steadily rising. The small numbers and their nature reserve dependency make them Amber Listed.

Their Latin name is 'botaurus stellaris' where 'botaurus' is derived from the Latin 'bos' for 'ox' and  'taurus' for bull because of the bellowing call. The 'stellaris' is Latin for 'starred' and refers to the Bittern's speckled plumage. The English name is a corruption of the Latin. Other names include; 'bog thumper', 'bull of the bog', 'bog hen', 'boom bird' and 'bottle bump'. Imagination runs wild when things are hard to see.

Spoonbill

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It is pretty obvious why we call them Spoonbills. They have a huge spatula-shaped bill. Each year, we get a small number (50-80 pairs) breeding in Britain, mainly on coastal marshes and reedbeds. They arrive in May and leave again in August for a warmer winter in southern Europe, though a few can overwinter here.

The Spoonbill is slightly smaller than a Grey Heron. It is white with a short shaggy crest, a long black spoon-shaped bill with a yellow tip, and thick black legs. It can have a yellow band on its breast when in breeding plumage. Youngsters have black tips on their wings. In flight, they hold their necks and long bills out front and trail their feet out the back, giving them a distinctive profile compared to Herons, Egrets, Swans, and Geese. Spoonbills are mainly silent, only doing some bill snapping at their nests. While sleeping during the day, they annoyingly tuck their bills along their backs, making them difficult to see, their thick black legs being the only giveaway.

Spoonbills feed together in groups on open water, often in the dark and seldom mixing with other birds, as they are shy and don’t want anyone to make fun of their strange bills. They feed by sweeping their bills from side to side, filtering tiny creatures out of the water. The moment any small creature touches the inside of their bill, it is snapped tightly shut. They eat insects, larvae, snails, small fish, amphibians and plants. Because of the tiny size of their food, they need to feed for many hours each day.

They occasionally breed in Norfolk and Yorkshire, nesting in colonies with nests so close together they can be touching. Members of the colony will gang together to drive predators away. The scruffy nest is a pile of reeds and twigs on the ground. The colony’s egg-laying is synchronised so the chicks hatch at about the same time and can be cared for by all the parents in the colony. Mum lays  2-4 eggs which hatch after 24 days. The youngsters can fly at 24 days but are fed by their parents for 10 weeks. 

In Europe, Spoonbills experienced a significant decrease between 1960 and 1990, but since then they have recovered and there are now estimated to be about 29,000 mature birds. The decrease in numbers was caused by a combination of DDT poisoning (which is now banned) and the drainage of marshes leading to the loss of breeding grounds. Spoonbills are now specially protected and the conservation of marshes has helped them.

Their Latin name is ’platalea leucorodia’ where ’platalea’ is from the Ancient Greek meaning ‘broad’, and  ’leucorodia’ is from  ’leukerodios’ for ‘spoonbill’, combination of ’leukos’ for ‘white’ and ’erodios’ for ‘heron’. In England, it was traditionally known as the ‘shovelard’, a name that was later used for the Shoveler duck instead.

Great White Egret

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The Great White Egret, often just called a Great Egret, is a recent newcomer to Britain though spreading rapidly. It is found on wet meadows and lakes and is mainly a winter visitor. As its name suggests, the Great White Egret is a large, white heron. They can look similar to Little Egrets, but they are much, much bigger.

The Great White Egret is similar in size to a Grey Heron. It is all white with black legs and feet, and a long yellow dagger bill. Confusingly, they can have a black bill when breeding. Like the Little Egret, they have wispy breeding plumes over their back, but as it mainly breeds elsewhere, we rarely see these. The flight is slow and ponderous with their necks retracted. This is characteristic of Herons and Bitterns and makes them easy to tell apart from Storks, Cranes, and Spoonbills, which stick their necks out. The rarely heard call is a rippling, deep rattling “brrrrrr”.

Their main food is fish, insects and frogs. They stand in shallow water, patiently waiting for a meal to approach, then spear it with their long, sharp bill.

The Somerset Levels were home to the UK’s first breeding pair of Great White Egrets in 2012, though they mainly breed in colonies elsewhere. The nests are made in trees close to a large lake with reedbeds or other large wetlands. 

They don’t start breeding until they are 2–3 years old and form a monogamous pair each season. The male selects a suitable tree, starts a nest, and then uses it to attract a female. The nest is made of sticks and lined with plant material and can be up to 3 feet across! Up to six bluish-green eggs are carefully laid and both parents incubate the eggs for 23–26 days. Once hatched, mum and dad feed the youngsters by regurgitating (sicking up) food. They can fly after 6–7 weeks, no doubt relieved to be able to feed themselves and leave the tree.

Great White Egrets can appear in almost any part of the UK, though they are most frequently found in southeast England and East Anglia. About 200 overwinter here. Like the Little Egret, the Great White Egret was once persecuted for its beautiful long-white breeding plumes, which were used in ladies’ hats. In the United States, they were almost wiped out completely during the late 1800s. Those dastardly Victorians!

Their Latin name is ’ardrea alba’ where ’ardea’ is Latin for ‘heron’ and ’alba’ is ‘white’. It has several local names such as ‘common egret’, ‘large egret’, or ‘great white heron’. They are found throughout the world with four subspecies in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Europe.

Little Egret

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Little Egrets, like herons, are very good at standing still and not doing much. Not so long ago, we considered them a rarity, but now they are a familiar sight on estuaries and wetlands despite having only arrived back here in 1966, the swinging sixties. These are birds with style.

The Little Egret is an elegant white heron with a long slender neck. It has two long feather plumes on its neck, which go wispy in the spring, a black bill, black legs and yellow feet. Like the heron, the feet stick out at the back when it is flying. The wings are broad and look bowed when flying. The Little Egret flies with long leisurely wing beats and its head is drawn back into its body like a heron's. They are generally silent except when in a breeding colony or when annoyed. They croak a deep "arrrrgh!" irritation call when disturbed or pushed from an excellent fishing spot by a rival. The bird equivalent of something unprintable.

The Little Egret feeds on fish, especially sticklebacks, tench, and small carp. They will also eat frogs and aquatic insects. They waggle their feet to stir up the water and disturb prey or else dash through the water, wings flapping for balance, to grab something. Then they will stand still again for hours. They could earn a fortune as a 'bird' statue.

They nest in tree colonies like herons, building a rather rickety nest from twigs. They lay 3-5 eggs which both parents incubate until hatching 21 days later. Both mum and dad feed the young by regurgitating (sicking up) food. The young carefully edge out onto the tree branches at 30 days, after wising up to the shaky state of their nest, and can fly about 10 days later. After nesting, many Little Egrets will migrate south to wintering areas in the Mediterranean and Central Africa, though a few stay here, now our winters are getting warmer.

The Victorians decimated the Little Egret for their white wispy feathers to put in their hats. The bird's feathers had been used in the plume trade since at least the 17th century, but in the 19th century the Victorians took it to a whole new level when it became a major craze and the number of Little Egret skins passing through dealers reached into the millions. In the first three months of 1885, 750,000 egret skins were sold in London, while in 1887 one London dealer sold 2 million egret skins. The Victorians should all be shot! Sadly if they were, you and I wouldn't exist so it is a bit of a conundrum. You can't pick your ancestors.

There are now 2,000 pairs of Little Egrets in Britain and the number is increasing as the weather gets milder. Their Latin name is 'egretta garzetta', which sounds like a magazine reading egret, but comes from the Provençal French 'aigrette' meaning 'egret' and 'garzetta' from the Italian name for an egret. An uninspiring name 'egret egret' for something so beautiful.

Grey Heron

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Grey Herons are fairly large birds, standing a metre tall and weighing up to 2 kilograms. They have a fairly ancient lineage and first appeared in the fossil record in the Paleogene period so they know a thing or two about fishing. They are all called Frank as that is their harsh, barking call when flying.

Grey Herons, unsurprisingly, have a grey back. They have white underparts, a long thin white neck with black marks that act as camouflage (breaking up its neck outline when viewed by fish up through the water), a black wispy crest, large broad wings, an orange dagger bill (that gets redder in the breeding season), and very long legs. Their legs are so long they stick out the back when flying, while they hold their head in an S-shape so they don't look like Concord. They often stand hunched up on one leg with their head resting between their shoulders, trying to look small.

Grey Herons can usually be seen by lakes, slow flowing rivers, marshes and estuaries, but can also trick you by standing in a field. In fact, they will roost in groups in a 'standing ground' where they discuss the day's fishing. A heron by a stream is a good indication of how clean it is and the presence of fish as they eat lots of fish! Their feeding technique is to stand motionless beside the water, ready to grab a passing fish that didn't see that dagger beak coming. They will feed on amphibians and small mammals as well, but fish is their favourite.

Heron courtship involves the male calling from his chosen nesting site - up a tree! Yes, a tree. Unless you have seen a heronry, it is hard to believe something so big can nest in trees with lots of other herons. On the arrival of a female, both birds take part in a stretching ceremony, in which each bird extends its neck vertically before getting down to the serious matter of building a big nest that won't fall down. The nest is made of a platform of sticks. Both birds build it with the male getting material while the female does the construction and ordering about. They lay 3-5 eggs anytime between February to April. The young herons hatch after 25 days and the youngsters leave the nest 25-30 days later and clamber along branches for a bit more room. They can finally fly when they are 50 days old and soon move on as mum and dad have all the fishing rights in the local area.

Grey Herons have suffered in the past from water pollution and not being particularly liked by anglers or people with ponds full of posh fish which are especially yummy and easy to catch. They can also suffer in harsh winters and from hungry old bishops. Roast heron was once a specially prized dish; when George Neville became Archbishop of York in 1465, they served 400 herons to the guests. There are 13,000 pairs in Britain. Our herons are resident, but European ones migrate south in winter.

In Ancient Egypt, the deity Bennu was depicted as a heron and in Ancient Rome, the heron was a bird of divination that gave an augury (sign of a coming event) by its call, like the raven or owl. The Latin name is 'ardea cinerea' which comes from the Latin 'ardea' which means 'heron' and 'cinerea' which means 'ash-grey' (from 'cineris' for 'ashes').