October 14th 2011
A Little Egret on the river near my apartment 3 years ago today.
It was sharing the river with several Grey Heron and Great Egret.
This is not especially common in Hokkaido but I usually see 1 or 2 a year. This one stayed a few weeks and is the only individual of this species I've photographed much. Not as common here as they have become in the UK..............no dramatic northward invasion this side of the Eurasian landmass. Not yet anyway.
Loads of little egrets on the Ribble and Wyre estuaries but I've still not seen one from my work parch ar the southern end of the Prom...How have I managed that?????
ReplyDeleteCheers
DaveyMan
Saw my first ever one in Freckleton in 1986 or 1987!
DeleteGreat exposure and BIF! The world must be heating up as 10 were seen at Aberlady recently!
ReplyDeleteP.S. I saw my first ever at Budleigh Salterton in 1990 - we phoned Birdline from a phonebox! Man I feel old now.
ReplyDeleteHi Stuart, the one I saw in 1987 was considered rare enough locally to be a 'twitch'. Just before I moved to Japan in 1999 I saw one on my local patch near Preston and remember how excited I was..............
DeleteIt took about thirty years to reach their present population level in the UK. They have filled a niche and seem not to compete with any other species so it will be interesting to see how they fare in Japan if they take off.
ReplyDeleteHi Phil, they are common enough in most of Japan, just not in the north where I am.
DeleteWhen I was at Leighton Moss in October, I saw them leaving the communal roost - more than 150 together in a couple of dead trees, then peeling off in flocks at sunrise. Common indeed now, though they still seem exotic to me :)
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