Great White Egret near Preston

January 2014:
For several days a Great White Egret frequented riverside fields and ditches at Fishwick Bottoms by the River Ribble. A deep ditch filled with water-cress appeared to be its favourite feeding ground. On one occasion it was accompanied by a Grey Heron.

Around this date, a Bittern was seen very close-by at Brockholes and two Little Egrets were on the adjacent river. All four of these 'heron-like' species were within a radius of one mile.



Great White Egret at Mitton, Lancashire

November 5, 2010:
Yet another scarce and interesting bird has turned up locally. This is the Great White Egret which was feeding on the banks of the River Ribble above Mitton Bridge this afternoon. So we've now had a Great Grey Shrike (still present today) and a Black Redstart (both on nearby Waddington Fell) and a large flock of Waxwings (at Barrow), all of these being within a radius of just a few miles. The Egret was first reported on the river about four miles upstream near West Bradford on Wednesday (the 3rd) and now appears to be gradually moving down river.






Being a large white bird it is very conspicuous even when at long range. It is almost certainly the same bird as was seen on Monday from the Oxenhope Moor (Bradford) Trektellen migration watch-point when flying in the direction of Skipton. The sighting is discussed at
http://www.trektellen.nl/trektelling.asp?telpost=196&site=0&land=5&taal=2&datum=20101101
(Also thanks Bill).


[Foreshortened view (bird centre) as seen from Mitton road Bridge]