If you walk around the Cotswold Water Park, it is likely that you notice egrets feeding around lake margins and flooded fields. Until recent years these will nearly all have been Little Egrets, pure white, with black bill and much smaller than Grey Herons. But things have changed; Great White Egrets (similar size to Grey Herons) have been present, and breeding, for a few years. And, in 2024, a third species of egret bred in the CWP for the first time – the Cattle Egret. These are similar in size to Little Egret, but with a shorter, broader bill which is yellow. Other differences are black feet (yellow on Little Egret) and rich buff patches on the top of the head and chest when in breeding plumage. They usually feed around large mammals, catching invertebrates, indeed you may have seen them on TV, when African Wildlife is being shown – as they are long established on that continent, feeding around Rhinos, Wildebeest and the like. Over here you are more likely to encounter them feeding around cattle (not really surprising, given the name); if you think you’ve seen them with Rhinos or Wildebeest, near South Cerney, either contact the wildlife park near Burford, and ask about escapes – or cut back drastically on your alcohol intake!
As well as searching for food around cattle, they often frequent flooded fields and lake margins, where they will search for worms, frogs and other meaty morsels. When they do this they may well be alongside Little Egrets. In recent months both species have been regular around the Cotswold Lakes Trust’s Cleveland Lakes Reserve, favouring the areas with shallow water, allowing comparisons of the two species. Indeed, Great White Egrets have also been present; towering over the smaller egrets. We are into winter now, and the rain has been falling, so keep your eyes open for white egrets around the floods; you might spot one of our most recent colonists.
Kim Milsom, Biodiversity Field Officer, Cotswold Lakes Trust