Cattle egrets, we’re starting to see quite a few

THEY’RE back!

After spending summer in their nesting areas in New South Wales and Queensland, cattle egrets have started returning to our cool part of Australia.

Last weekend, I was delighted to see about 20 of these lovely birds feeding alongside some dairy cows at Barwon Downs.

Soon there will be some hundreds scattered across the local farmlands, wherever there are cattle and other animals in the paddocks.

They associate with grazing animals that disturb frogs and insects — crickets, grasshoppers and the like — providing easy pickings.

Cattle egrets have an interesting history in Australia. They are found in Africa and Asia, wherever there are domestic stock or native species of cattle and similar grazing animals.

In the early 1930s, about 35 were imported from India and released in the Kimberley region, in the hope they would control cattle tick.

They disappeared but in the 1940s, flocks were seen in the Northern Territory.

There is no suggestion they were the result of the earlier introduction, rather the result of a worldwide natural expansion.

It seems likely they had come into the Top End via Indonesia where they had become established some years earlier.

From the Northern Territory they quickly moved south and first appeared around Geelong in the early 1950s.

They have established several nesting colonies in Queensland and New South Wales.

On one occasion in December 2009, several pairs tried their luck at Balyang Sanctuary, but failed to settle there in later years. They are now well-known as a migratory species, spending the mid-year months here.

But in October they begin to gain their beautiful orangeyellow plumage, and all have left before the summer months arrive.

It’s a pity because they would be a wonderful addition to our local birdlife if nesting colonies became established.

Wildlife information and questions can be sent to ppescott@gmail.com