MarkEggletonblog

 We have 3 types of Egret in the UK now, the Little, the Cattle and the Great White. I have written them in that order as that is the way the have appeared here over the last 40 years, the first significant sightings was of the Little Egret back in 1989, they bred here in Dorset (a UK 1st) in 1996. Cattle Egrets are abundant in the winter around Abbotsbury, they over night in a regular roost near the Swannery, sometimes up to 30+ and are easily seen in the fields around the sheep and cattle in the local area, there was a big influx of them over wintering 2007/2008 and then consequently 2 pairs bred in 2008 on the Somerset levels, they have been here ever since spreading across southern England. Today on my walk around Lodmoor I spotted 2 Great White Egrets, which led me to do this blog, they are like a White Heron, I can’t find a definitive date as to when they were first seen in the Uk, But I can tell you that they first nested and successfully bred in 2012 on the Avalon Marshes o...

 I have been into wildlife since I was kid, an old friend of mine recently contacted me and said “ why don’t you do a blog”, well I have done one in the past, but now I am retired, why not 😁  Well here are few recent pics I have taken while I have been out and about,  the 1st is a Northern Wheatear a spring migrant, the male this is one are stunning when they first turn up . the next is a Common Whitethroat a member of the warbler family a summer visitor, they have a real scrapey call always great to hear and see when they return each year. the 3rd one is a very rare visitor a Forsters Tern from North America, I saw it RSPB Arne a couple of weeks ago, its been coming back now for 2 years, great to have it pop up right in front of me. Regularly see the next bird a Common Buzzard I actually saw a pair mating yesterday a first for me. there have been a lot of Firecrest about this year maybe because it has been so mild this winter, our smallest bird  finally a reintrodu...