As reported in the Ross Gazette a few weeks ago, rare great white egrets have been spotted along the riverside near to the Ross Rowing Club.

25 years ago the sighting of any White Heron in the UK would have been greeted with excitement. While the little egret is now relatively common, it can sometimes be confused at distance with a much rarer visitor - the great white egret.

Both of which have been spotted in Ross-on-Wye recently, near the river bank opposite the Ross Rowing Club.

A spokesperson for the RSPB confirmed that the birds spotted were little egrets and the more unusual Great White Egrets. He said: “GW Egrets are still quite a rare bird but are expanding north and west in the UK.”

How to identify the great white egret from the little egret:

The great white egret is a large heron with all-white plumage. Great white egrets can look similar to little egrets, but they are much larger - the same size as the familiar grey heron.

Other identification features to look out for include pale yellow upper legs but black lower legs and black feet. They also have a yellow beak, except in the period before breeding season when it becomes black.

A great white egret is also reported to have bright green facial skin during breeding season.

It also has a different fishing technique, more like that of the grey heron - eating fish, insects and frogs, caught by spearing with its long, sharp beak.

The little egret:

The little egret is a small white heron with black legs and a black bill - but has yellow feet (not black). It feeds in shallow water and on land, consuming small creatures.

The little egret’s habitat varies widely, and includes the lakes, rivers, canals, ponds, marsh, and flooded fields. The little egrets prefer open locations to dense cover.

History of decline:

Little egrets are a successful colonist; its range has gradually expanded north, with stable and self-sustaining populations now present in the UK. They are also sociable birds and are often seen in small flocks.

Historical research has shown that the little egret was once present, and likely common, in Great Britain, but became extinct through a combination of over-hunting in the late mediaeval period and climate change at the start of the Little Ice Age.

Further declines occurred throughout Europe as the plumes of little egrets were in demand for decorating hats. The elegant neck plumes of an egret in breeding plumage were once more valuable than gold, smuggled into Europe they fetched £15 an ounce or 28g (about £875 at 2000 prices), each little egret producing about 1g of plumes.

This reduced the population of the species to dangerously low levels and stimulated the establishment of Britain’s Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in 1889.

The first recent breeding record in England was in Dorset in 1996, and the species bred in Wales for the first time in 2002. The population increase has been rapid subsequently.

Now while the great egret is generally a very successful species with a large and expanding range, occurring worldwide in temperate and tropical habitats - large numbers were also killed in North America in the 19th century, for their plumes.

The great egret is partially migratory, with northern hemisphere birds moving south from areas with colder winters, and on May 22nd, 2012, it was announced a pair of great egrets were nesting in the UK for the first time at the Shapwick Heath nature reserve in Somerset, a great egret chick subsequently hatched.

In 2017, seven nests in Somerset fledged 17 young, and a second breeding site was announced in Norfolk, where a pair fledged three young.

The RSPB website suggests there may be as few as 35 birds in the whole of the country - and they have been spotted in Ross-on-Wye!

Please send in your photos of sightings and any more information to [email protected]