Little Egret

The little egret (Egretta garzetta) is a small heron with exclusively white feathers, including head, back and chest plumes. Its legs and spear-like beak are black and it has yellow feet. They feed on fish, as the more familiar grey herons do, by using stealth and a rapid stabbing movement of the neck, head, and beak. More information on the little egret is available from the RSPB.

Since the middle of the twentieth century the little egret has been expanding its range north from the Mediterranean. This may be caused, or facilitated, by global warming. The birds have been breeding in England since 1996.

Little egrets are a common site now on local estuaries including the Plym and the Tamar, where they fish from the water’s edge as the tide ebbs and flows. Locally organised bird-watching cruises operate on the Tamar throughout the winter. The Tamar and its estuaries form a Special Protection Area designated for this species and the Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta).

Photo credit: Merlin Farwell