It was good to see Great White Egret again at WWT Llanelli last weekend, now becoming more frequent as numbers slowly build up on the Burry inlet / Loughor estuary area. With seven being seen together last month, a Centre record, of which I saw six for the first time, it makes you wonder how many are now around.
In recent years it`s been the same with Spoonbill, where larger groups are now seen, and i`ve had five together on my local marsh a day or two after storms.
The Great White Egret is larger than the Little Egret, as the name suggests, roughly the size of a Grey Heron. It has an all-yellow bill, rather than the Little Egret`s black bill, although this can darken with any breeding birds. The GWE also has dark legs and feet, whereas the Little Egret has "yellow socks" (feet and ankles).
In flight, the GWE also has a more lumbering flight on it`s large broad wings, again similar to a Heron, compared to the slightly quicker Little Egret.
I`ve had up to three GWEs the same time on my local marsh for a few years now, seemingly doing well on the rich food sources and lack of human disturbance.
Hopefully there will be at least one Great White Egret around on Saturday for the next Walk with the warden at WWT Llanelli.
See you then
