_T4A1456

Little Egret

Irish Name:

Éigrit bheag

Scientific name:

Egretta garzetta

Bird Family:

Cormorants (Egrets)

GREEN

CONSERVATION STATUS

little-egret-wadinglittle-egret-perched-in-treelittle-egret-wading-in-the shallowslittle-egret-hunting-with-fish-prey-in-beaklittle-egret-chicks-on-nestlittle-egret-coming-in-to-land

 

Status

 

Resident along coasts and rivers throughout Ireland, but still scarce in the Midlands and north-west of the country. Little Egret was considered rare in Ireland until it first started breeding here in 1997. It has since expanded and now occurs in almost every coastal county, as well as at a number of inland sites.

 

Identification

 

Medium-sized white heron, with long black legs, yellow feet, black bill and blue-grey lores, and two elongated nape-feathers in breeding plumage.

 

Voice

 

Rook-like hoarse 'aaah' on alighting from the ground. At colonies, hoarse hard gargling 'gulla-gulla-gulla…' often heard.

 

Diet

 

Takes a wide variety of animals including small fish, frogs, snails and insects and forages across a range of wetland habitats from lakes to flooded grassland. Often forages alone; but maybe encountered in small groups.

 

Breeding

 

Clutch: 4-5 eggs (1 brood) Incubation: 21-22 days.Fledging: 40-45 days (Altricial). Age of first breeding: not known. Breeds in lakes, marshes, flooded fields & estuaries.

 

Wintering

 

Little Egrets use a variety of wetland habitats, including shallow lakes, riverbanks, lagoons, coastal estuaries and rocky shoreline.

 

Monitored by

 

Irish Wetland Bird Survey.

 

Done