Sunday, January 13, 2008
Egret News
A couple of months ago, I reported on a heart-lifting encounter with a Little Egret. Well, I must report that yesterday I came across this beautiful bird again, in much more unlikely surroundings, viz a public park right on my Surrey suburban doorstep. I'd already seen a kingfisher - as I do nearly every time I set foot in that particular park (though it never loses its magic) - but the egret was a wonderful surprise. I glimpsed it through trees as it came in to land and could hardly believe what I was seeing. Approaching nearer, I found it standing on open ground, amid a scattering of crows (making it all the whiter), with a slightly bemused Where am I? And what do I do now? air. I watched it, amazed, for some while as we played grandmother's footsteps across the open ground. Then eventually I left it in peace - elegant and radiantly white against the sodden green. What was it doing so far inland? (getting on for 15 miles south of the London Thames, 40-plus miles north of the south coast). Is this, I wonder, a sign of things to come? Will the little egret become as common a sight as the heron? I rather hope so, as it is considerably more decorative and graceful. Has anyone out there in the blogosphere seen an egret so far inland?
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A blog about, among other things, imaginary ideas - What ifs? and Imagine thats. What if photographs looked nothing like what we see with our eyes? Imagine that the Berlin Wall had never come down. What if we were the punchline of an interminable joke? All contributions welcome.
Egrets? I've seen a few, but then again, too few to mention.
ReplyDeletePersonally, of course, I egret everything.
ReplyDeleteRien, rien de rein, non je n'egrete rien...
ReplyDeleteTo egret deeply is to live afresh.
ReplyDeleteBill Oddie wouldn't put up with this frivolity. (genius post, Richard)
ReplyDeleteNige, I clicked in order to post the same 'je n'egrete rien' joke but I was delighted to see that I'm not the only man to love Oddie. Many thanks. You are now my second favourite bearded twitcher.
ReplyDeleteI am delighted for you, There is nothing like a spot of unexpected nature to put a spring in the step. While, to the question, only suspicions from me. One, it may well have been blown inland on the recent storms and two, Gulls come far inland prior to a large blow. But as he was a alone, it's more than likely that he's French, young and as Mrs Bracknell put it, in need of a wife. That will tie down his wandering ways. The RSPB has them established to the north of Norfolk, not bad for a bird hardly seen before '89.
ReplyDeleteI guess it's different over here, Nige. I see them regularly upstate where we vacation along the Susquehanna. Maybe that's why Coleridge wanted to move here.
ReplyDeleteAh yes, Pantisocracy on the banks of the Susquehanna - your rivers have such wonderful names, Frank...
ReplyDeleteNot just Susquehanna - they're pretty common up Swindon way as well (around the headwaters of the mighty Thames) see Cotswold Water Park for example. Note that as well as the Little version, we're also getting Great Whites - which might discourage the water skiers a bit.
ReplyDeleteThanks Pete - and Great Whites too! Now they would be a sight to see...
ReplyDeleteSaw lots of them last week in Florida, though that ain't a surprise. But I also saw one in suburban Phila. last month, dipping its graceful feet into a pond at the mall. That *was* a surprise. Quite a bit inland, and in winter.
ReplyDeleteWhile not a twitcher myself, when I do occasionally come across this rather quaint breed of human (usually when I least expect it) I find their wide-eyed enthusiasm for all things avian really quite charming.
ReplyDeleteI've spotted an egret twice in recent weeks on the banks of the River Chess near Latimer, Bucks, where we must be a good 80 miles from the sea. It's a spot normally frequented by herons.
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone - this seems to confirm that the egret is the new heron - excellent news!
ReplyDelete