I visited WWT Slimbridge again today, not expecting to see anything new but it's always a pleasant day out. The most interesting sighting today was the Great White Egret from the Knott Hide. On my last visit it wasn't seen, and indeed as I looked in the hide for the first time as I made my way down to the Estuary Tower, I saw nothing, but on my return I looked in and was almost taken by surprise to see this large white bird showing well not too far from the hide. Every so often it would stop, stretch out its neck and with a sudden movement stab its spear- like yellow bill into the water.
I had seen a couple of little egrets on the estuary from the summer walkway, and I thought I might even make it three egrets in one visit, but the twelve cattle egrets that had been roosting on the South lake had moved on. All three egrets are now much more common than they used to be; I can remember seeing little egrets on the Hayle Estuary in the early 1990s when they started to visit the UK in more significant numbers.
A few butterflies were still about, enjoying the autumn sunshine, including one common blue, red admiral, several speckled woods and quite a few whites.
No comments:
Post a Comment