Great White Egrets - Autumn 2023

Having enjoyed the Cattle Egrets at Blenheim throughout the spring and summer at Blenheim, autumn sees the return of Great White Egrets. Although some seem to linger in the county throughout the summer, I've not yet recorded one doing so at Blenheim. The last record this year of mine was one in early May. The first returning bird this year was on 1st August. Since then, there have been up to three birds present ranging along the waterbodies within the Blenheim Estate. Only recently have they returned more regularly to the Queen Pool. Despite the work to deepen the lake and remove the shallow edges and vegetation, they are still able to hunt around the margins. There have been very few Little Egrets present since the end of the breeding season and it seems likely the work on the lake has made the Queen Pool less favourable, but I don't think the smaller numbers at the moment are simply down to this factor. 

The Great Whites can be quite approachable, more so I would say than Grey Herons or Little Egrets.

Out of the three birds present, there appears to be one individual that asserts its dominance and if it flies into the areas the others may be feeding, it will chase them off. Typically this will involve very languid wing beats as it pursues the other in flight.

Their call is distinctive and although very different from the heron it is similarly pre-historic sounding. This is most often given as they take flight.

The herons present assert their dominance if they come into proximity and although similar sized, the herons' bulk give them the upper hand.