English great white egret baby news

This is a great white egret video.

From Wildlife Extra:

Second Great white egret nest hatches chick in Somerset

More egret success at Shapwick Heath National Nature Reserve in Somerset

July 2012. Natural England staff have confirmed a second Great white egret nest has hatched another great white egret chick. This follows three chicks fledging from June’s nesting attempt; the large, heron-like bird had not successfully bred in Britain until this year.

Natural England’s project officer for the species, Kevin Anderson said; “This species has never bred in Britain before – to have two successful nests in the first breeding year is remarkable.”

Volunteers have kept up a round-the-clock vigil to ensure that both nests have not been disturbed. Kevin added, “We’d like to thank our volunteers for their commitment and determination, especially during the continued wet weather – they’ve been brilliant.”

With another chick to keep an eye on, the volunteering effort will continue throughout July. The hope is that the new arrival will have successfully fledged within a few weeks and that Shapwick will soon be able to confirm a record season for its most exotic new breeding bird.

More about Shapwick Heath is here.

Read about Great white egret nests in Britain for the first time here.

About great white egrets

The nest is made up of a mound of reeds lined with softer plant material, and concealed deep in the reedbeds. Usually 3 – 4 eggs are laid with the young looked after by both adults.
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European population are estimated at over 24,000 pairs (Birdlife, 2004). The great white egret is the size of a grey heron, with similar habits but can be confused with the much smaller little and cattle egrets.
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Great white egrets feed on a range of aquatic animals including fish, frogs and insects. In the breeding season the tip of their yellow bill turns black on both sexes, and they develop beautiful long plumes along the back.
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The great white egret is distributed across most of the tropical and warmer temperate regions of the world, but is rather localised in southern Europe.