For the last 10 days or so a Great White Egret has been in residence on the scrape at Carlton Marshes SWT reserve and I have seen it on a couple of occasions but always at a distance and in bad light so yesterday afternoon with the sun shining I made another trip to spend a bit of time trying to get some better views.
Unlike its smaller cousin the Little Egret which is now a resident breeder in this country the Great White is most uncommon in England and is usually found in South East Europe. It is a magnificent bird that stands about the same height as a Grey Heron but with gorgeous all white plumage and spends most of its time in the same areas you would find herons feeding on fish, amphibians and small mammals.
They usually appear to be very shy around people and although easy to spot they rarely come close. I walked around the far side of the scrape so the light was coming from behind me, crouched behind some reeds that border the path and waited. Eventually after a couple of hours the bird approached to within 60 yards or so of me and started to hunt enabling me to get some photos some of which were taken while the bird was shaking it's feathers after preening them. After 20 minutes with the egret somebody else walking along the path caused the bird to take off and return to the centre of the scrape but I was more than happy with the chance to have spent some time close to this beautiful and graceful creature. The appearance of this bird and other waders has justified the decision of the Suffolk Wildlife Trust to create the environment in the south Waveney valley to attract them.
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