The egret has landed
A YORKSHIRE Water nature reserve can boast another feather in its cap after the sighting of a rare great white egret this week.
Fewer than 100 of the birds have been recorded in the UK, all of them vagrants lost on their way to their normal summer breeding grounds in eastern and central Europe.
A small breeding colony is also established in the reed beds and marshes along the
Dutch coast -
The egret's visit to the Driffield area was captured on camera by Driffield Times reader who thought its presence was sure to send twitchers and bird watchers flocking to the site.
"It is always difficult to guess how long unusual guests are likely to stay as it depends on whether they are disturbed or if they can find enough food," said Yorkshire Water warden, Peter Izzard.
"The egret isn't particularly popular with the common terns who have been mobbing it if it comes too close to the area where
they are nesting but, generally, it seems happy feeding on small fish."
The egret is an impressive size, standing as tall as the indigenous grey heron, with a pure white plumage, distinctive yellow bill and a long sinuous neck.
Common in Russia and around the Black and Caspian Seas, there are also breeding grounds in Turkey and Austria.
Meanwhile, Tophill Low will collect a national award from the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) at Rutland Water on Friday.
The ceremony is a celebration of the environmental achievements of businesses across Britain where prizes are presented in three categories: Birds, Conservation and Community.
Tophill Low's success is in the class for the number of species sighted, in which it has been recognised as the best example of a medium wetland site in 2006.
The reserve has won several previous awards in the same competition in the past.
Last Updated: 13 June 2007
Article reproduced by kind permission of the Driffield Times
