Even birds are shunning Med for UK staycations
Elegant...black-winged stilt nested in UK
BRITAIN has been invaded by waves of exotic Mediterranean birds thanks to our warming climate, experts reveal.
Herons, egrets and bitterns, which are normally found in southern Europe, have all made a home in the UK recently.
Other birds from the Mediterranean which have bred or tried to breed here include hoopoes and bee-eaters.
The British Trust for Ornithology said great white egrets and spoonbills have also been found on our shores.
A BTO spokesman said: “As we experience warmer summers and, more importantly, milder winters, we will surely see birds like the cattle egret gain a firmer foothold here in the UK, in the same way that the little egret has.
“That these birds are now able to breed here and successfully spend the winter here has to be influenced by a changing climate.
“But also by the huge investment that has gone into restoring our wetlands. I think it is now safe to say that these Mediterranean birds are here to stay.”
Over here...great white egret
This week, an elegant wader normally found in the marshes of southern Europe successfully reared three chicks at a new nature reserve.
The black-winged stilt chicks have just flown the nest at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust’s Steart Marshes reserve in Somerset.
As these waders, with needle-thin beaks and long red legs, tend to use the same nest site every year, wardens hope they will return next spring to form a colony.
They are normally found in Mediterranean lagoons. They winter in sub-Saharan Africa.