Scottish twitchers: Egrets? We have a few
Little egrets are breeding for the first time in Scotland, it has been confirmed.
The small white herons were once only seen in the UK as occasional visitors from the Mediterranean.
Mostly associated with warm climates from Europe down to Australia, the birds have expanded their range north.
Little egrets first bred in the UK in Dorset, in 1996, but over the last 10 years individuals have been spotted feeding in shallow coastal waters around Scotland.
Now, for the first time, a pair has been confirmed breeding north of the Border after a nest containing three young was monitored in a wood in Dumfries and Galloway last summer. The exact site is being kept a closelyguarded secret.
Research ecologist Ian Woodward said: “Little egrets first came into the UK in the 1990s and started breeding in the south, and they have spread fairly rapidly.
“The occasional one or two birds have been appearing in Scotland and it has been suspected they may be nesting north of the Border, but 2020 is the first confirmed breeding.
“It wouldn’t surprise me at all if, in the next few years, they start to breed at more Scottish sites. How far up they can go might depend on the weather.”