20/08/16 - Little Egret invasion

Over the last few weeks we’ve seen a rapid increase in the number of Little Egrets throughout the valley, including up to 17 on the pool at Wheldrake Ings. The bird pictured here, ‘J9’, was spotted on the pool at Wheldrake, along with ‘B9’. The BTO have since been in touch with the ringing details, we now know that ‘J9’ was ringed last year by the Mid-Lincolnshire Ringing Group as a nestling on the 20^th May at North Cotes. However, ‘B9’ was ringed back in 2009 at Penrhyn Castle in Bangor, North Wales, also as a nestling, on the 5^th July. Information like this helps us to learn more about the recent colonisation of egrets in the valley, and we now know that this year six pairs bred across the site. A recent peak count of 32 birds was a record count, and in contrast to August last year, the monthly peak was of just four individuals, showing a rapid increase. When visiting the site please let us know of any records of colour-ringed birds by leaving a note in the logbooks provided. Many thanks to local birder Duncan Bye for sending in his super photograph and for providing us with the information from the BTO.