Wintering birds: 72 birds
Family: Bitterns, Herons, And Egrets
In breeding season, great white egrets have all white plumage with long feathers on the back that extend over the tail. On the head, the lores may become green. The eyes are yellow, the dagger-like bill is yellow with a black tip becoming orange-yellow in high-breeding season, the upper legs are reddish, and the lower legs and feet are black.
Out of breeding season, the plumage is white but they lack the long feathers. The lores and bill are yellow, and the legs and feet are black. Males and females are similar but the male is slightly larger.
Juvenile great white egrets look like non-breeding adults with a duller bill and legs.
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Great white egrets are monogamous and often nest in colonies. They produced 1 brood a season. They nest in trees up to 12 metres high over water or the ground. The nest is a loose platform made from sticks, twigs, the stems of aquatic plants, and has little or no lining. Twigs and sticks may be added as the eggs are incubated.
Great white egrets lay 1-5 smooth, greenish blue or pale blue eggs which are incubated by both sexes for 23-24 days. Chicks are semi-altricial and covered in long white down with silky tips. They are fed by both parents with regurgitated food and leave the nest at about 3 weeks, climbing onto the surrounding branches. They continue to be fed at the nest and start to perform short flights at about 35-40 days after hatching. They reach sexual maturity at 2-3 years of age.
Great white egrets eat fish, amphibians, crustaceans, insects, snakes, as well as small birds and mammals such as mice and voles.
Great white egrets can be seen all year round in the UK although more likely to spotted over the spring and winter months. Most are in south-east England and East Anglia. Look out for them in wetland habitats.
Britain's Birds
RSPB Handbook Of British Birds
Collins Bird Guide
In the 19th century, great white egrets were killed for their plumes for ladies’ hats, which led to the formation of the Society for the Protection of Birds in Didsbury, Manchester. It received its royal warrant 15 years later becoming the RSPB.
