Cattle Egret
I was walking round a local reservoir with my wife this afternoon and I spotted an egret roosting in a waterside bush. Little Egrets are quite rare here in the Pennines but that's what I expected it to be when I lifted my binoculars. But to my absolute amazement I saw it had a stout yellow bill and a jowl on its lower mandible. It was a Cattle Egret! In the Pennines at 750 feet asl! Unfortunately it was raining with fading light when I set out so I didn't take my camera. But fortunately it flew right past me at close range leaving no doubt about its identity. I checked and this is the first Cattle Egret ever recorded in the Huddersfield Birdwatchers' Club recording area. In the absence of a photo of my bird, here's part of the flock that was present at Fairburn Ings last autumn.
Cattle Egret
I was walking round a local reservoir with my wife this afternoon and I spotted an egret roosting in a waterside bush. Little Egrets are quite rare here in the Pennines but that's what I expected it to be when I lifted my binoculars. But to my absolute amazement I saw it had a stout yellow bill and a jowl on its lower mandible. It was a Cattle Egret! In the Pennines at 750 feet asl! Unfortunately it was raining with fading light when I set out so I didn't take my camera. But fortunately it flew right past me at close range leaving no doubt about its identity. I checked and this is the first Cattle Egret ever recorded in the Huddersfield Birdwatchers' Club recording area. In the absence of a photo of my bird, here's part of the flock that was present at Fairburn Ings last autumn.