Cattle Egrets: First for Yorkshire as once-rare birds fledge young at Fairburn Ings nature reserve

Lydia Tague, reserve manager at Fairburn Ings, said: “The arrival and successful breeding of Cattle Egrets here is a huge moment for Yorkshire.

“These birds, until recently seldom seen as far north as Yorkshire, are now calling Fairburn home and we’ve never seen them is such good numbers.

“With a bit of luck, we’re hoping they will breed again this year, and that the Great White Egrets might breed here for the first time this year too.”

Cattle Egret numbers across the UK are now said to be rising. As their name suggests, the birds follow cattle around, feeding on the insects and other invertebrates which they disturb.

Cattle Egrets and Great White Egrets were rare passage and winter visitors to Fairburn until around five years ago, when conservationists as well as birders started observing them both more regularly at Fairburn Ings.

The birds were initially spotted in low numbers, but for the last three years have been visiting in increasingly higher numbers. In winter 2023/2024 the reserve was regularly seeing 12-17 Cattle Egrets and six Great White Egrets. During the winter just gone, both species had peak counts of at least 13.

The RSPB said that the rise in the number of Cattle and Great White Egrets further North could be in part due to global warming.