RSPB Fairburn Ings nature reserve counts 'record number' of egrets
"We're hoping they will breed again this year, and the great white egrets might breed here for the first time this year too."
The reserve said it regularly saw 12-17 cattle egrets and six great white egrets last winter.Cattle egret are white plumed birds that often follow cattle around, feeding on the insects they disturb.The birds were rarely seen at Fairburn Ings until about five years ago, the RSPB said, when conservationists and birders started spotting them more regularly.The reserve suggested it could partly be the result of global warming, with the birds moving further northwards away from warmer temperate and tropical countries.
Karen Swaffield, RSPB warden, said: "We watched the cattle egrets acquiring their beautiful breeding plumage and noticed the eye of one turning red, which they do just before they breed."It's wonderful that we had two pairs of nesting cattle egret and that they successfully managed to fledge three young."The first spoonbills recently returned to Fairburn Ings, with black-headed gulls beginning to arrive at the neighbouring St Aidan's reserve.
Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
14 hours ago
- BBC News
Another day of dinosaur fun is coming to Hull city centre
Visitors will have the chance to get up close and personal with dinosaurs and step back millions of years when Dino Day returns to event, organised by Hull BID, will include displays of a raptor, a Dilophosaurus and a will be free face-painting and a colouring competition with dinosaur prizes on Day takes place in Queen Victoria Square between 11:00 and 15:00 BST on Friday. Children can use their skills to become "super sleuths" as they track down and identify dinosaurs and pre-historic creatures in shops and businesses around the city event has been held since 2022. Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here. Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices
BBC News
6 days ago
- BBC News
Pod of hundreds of dolphins causing 'quite a stir' in Scarborough
Hundreds of dolphins have been causing "quite a stir" by frolicking and fishing in the North Sea off pod of bottlenose dolphins, thought to number 225, is believed to have made its way south from the Moray Firth in naturalist Fred Tiles, 70, said the pod had come "really close to shore and Marine Drive is filled with people with binoculars and cameras watching them breaching and throwing fish".Meanwhile, Grant Ellis from The Sea Mammal Research Unit, said: "The population has been increasing in Scotland, so it could be that they're finding new areas of habitat and that the Yorkshire coastline is good for them." Mr Ellis, a conservation ecologist who has been studying the group, said: "This is one of the largest pods around the UK "We've definitely seen them foraging in the area, so we know that they are fishing and they are finding the prey that they need."The population that we find here are the largest of their species in the world and it's thought this is because of the cooler waters in the North Sea, they have thicker blubber reserves."He added: "There's been increased sightings of bottlenose dolphins of the coast of Yorkshire over the past decade or so. We have about 225 in this east coast population in Scotland and we believe they have expanded their range." Mr Tiles, who set up the Scarborough Dolphins Facebook Group, said: "I saw one throw a huge salmon yesterday. "I think the richer seas we have here now because of fishing restrictions are responsible for luring this pod down from Scotland. I think that's what's bringing them." Mr Ellis agreed sea conditions might be behind the dolphins presence near the famous resort."There have been a lot of marine heatwaves going on and it could also be that environmental conditions in Yorkshire are improving - it's something we're investigating."Mr Ellis said each dolphin could be individually recognised through "unique markings"."One of the things that we're looking at is which animals are present on the Yorkshire coastline and how they are moving between Scotland and England," he added. As to whether the huge pod's stay in the area was set to continue, both men agreed the future looked bright for dolphin spotters along Yorkshire's east Ellis said: "It's really encouraging that they are being seen on a regular basis and in quite large group sizes."Mr Tiles added: "Five years ago you were lucky if you saw a group of five or six, now it's in the hundreds.""They're here to stay I think - they'll definitely be back." Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
BBC News
23-07-2025
- BBC News
'Eel lanes' created in South Downs rivers to assist migration
Dedicated "eel lanes" are to be created in rivers at the South Downs National Park to assist with the migration of the European project includes the installation of fish passes created around man-made structures in the rivers which act as a narrow lane of water to provide eels with a route around artificial barriers like dams and of bristles, known as eel brushes, are also being added at new water control structures in RSPB Pulborough Brooks and Pagham Harbour to help eels manoeuvre upstream."The migration of these eels is quite extraordinary as they undergo several metamorphoses during their lives," a spokesman for the national park said. Spawning in the Sargasso Sea, off the coast of Bermuda, the species then drift along the Gulf Stream over the next couple of reaching the English coastline, they use the force of the tides to push themselves upstream to make a home in rivers, including the Rother and in rivers, the eels grow up to one metre in length and live for up to 20 then make the 4,000-mile (6,437km) transatlantic journey back to the Sargasso Sea to project has been launched by the park authority, which is working with the Western Sussex Rivers Trust to protect the habitat of the eel in the Rother and Ems Felus, chief executive of the trust, said: "With pollution, sewage and drought all playing a part in the diminishing water quality of our rivers and streams, it's more important than ever that we work together to help protect and enhance these precious habitats for wildlife and humans alike."Jan Knowlson, biodiversity officer for the South Downs National Park, added: "The eels we have in the national park are truly remarkable and their incredible migration underlines the important connection between our rivers and seas."
